


Boyfriend

by SassyUnicorn7



Series: Gauntlets and Greaves II [1]
Category: RWBY
Genre: Action & Romance, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Developing Relationship, Drama, Established Relationship, Eventual Smut, F/M, Family Feels, Fluff and Humor, Meet the Family
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-28
Updated: 2017-08-22
Packaged: 2018-12-07 23:22:19
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 13
Words: 32,363
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11634072
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SassyUnicorn7/pseuds/SassyUnicorn7
Summary: After going his separate way from Yang this time around, Mercury really can’t seem to get her out of his head; the word “boyfriend” buzzing about his busy mind.  The infatuated mercenary has it bad, yet is still too stubborn to do anything about it… other than wait.  Timing is everything, after all.Yang isn’t much better.  During a one-night-stand with a man whose life she saved earlier that day, Yang accidently yells out Mercury’s name—something that’s never happened in the history of her sexual exploits, apart from when she’s actually having sex with Mercury, of course.  After a heart-to-heart with her sister, Yang decides it’s time to introduce Mercury to the rest of the family… and pray that he survives.





	1. The Right Name

**Author's Note:**

  * For [anawitch](https://archiveofourown.org/users/anawitch/gifts).
  * Inspired by [Plans](https://archiveofourown.org/works/5723980) by [anawitch](https://archiveofourown.org/users/anawitch/pseuds/anawitch). 



> **IMPORTANT**
> 
> This is a continuation of the Gauntlets and Greaves series written by the lovely and talented anawitch! If you have not read her work, I suggest you do before continuing on (^^)/

His hot breath against her neck reeked of cabbage and his blundering hands couldn’t decide where they wanted to touch her, so they carelessly slid up and down her arms as she tried to remember why she agreed to have sex with such an inept idiot in the first place.

 _He was hot,_ she remembered. Although glancing up at him now and seeing his mouth agape and contorted with one eye somehow much larger than the other, you’d never guess his appearance had been his best selling point.

 _I guess not everyone fucks as good as they look,_ Yang thought with a sigh as he accidentally dislodged himself from her for the third time in the past five minutes. He quickly repositioned himself and thrust into her again, but it was too late; Yang had already given up and assumed starfish mode. There was no way she was getting off with that amateur heaving on top of her.

 _Mercury sure fucks as good as he looks, though,_ she mused with a sly smile, remembering their first time together in the Beacon supply closet. Just thinking about his chiseled features and steely gray gaze aroused something within her—even with Sloppy Joe flailing about on top of her.

Closing her eyes, Yang reached her hand in between their sweaty bodies and touched herself, imagining Mercury. She’d had him so many times, so she could easily recall the feel of his fingers moving in the way that she liked, the strength of his arms rough-housing her the way that she liked, and the warmth of his lips kissing her in all the right places.

Yang let out a soft moan, making the man on top of her erupt in some sort of grunting laugh that was the furthest thing from sexy. “Are you feeling it, too?” he asked.

Yang shut her eyes tighter and focused harder. If she wanted any chance at an orgasm, she’d have to forget where she was and whom she was with. She tried to think of Mercury in the way that was sexiest to her; like the way he looked when he knew he was right, or the way he laughed when she said something funny. She thought about the fire in his eyes when he got serious in a fight, or even better: the fire in his eyes when he got serious in bed.

Yang was so close now. The clearer her vision of Mercury became, the closer she got to peaking. She was almost there… almost there… so close… so, so close…

“Oh, Merc!” she cried as she climaxed, arching her back up and riding it out while moaning with pleasure. As euphoric as the moment had been, once it passed and all of her senses started functioning properly again, Yang went rigid when she realized Sloppy Joe was no longer clumsily pumping in and out of her or panting like he had a severe sinus infection.

She inhaled sharply, sitting up on her elbows to look him in the eyes. “Why’d you stop?” she asked, the panic evident in her voice. She knew she fucked up.

“You… said someone else’s name…”

“No, I didn’t.”

“Yes you did, Yang. You said, ‘oh, Merc.’”

“No, I said, ‘Joe, mmm!’”

“That’s not my name either.”

“Huh?”

“My name’s not Joe. It’s Jack.”

“Right! Jack! That’s what I meant.”

He needed to cut her a little slack. They’d only met a few hours ago. He was a merchant from a local port city in Vale who needed help transferring his goods from one place to the next. He’d been having difficulty due to the increase in thieves on the roads lately, but with Yang’s assistance they managed to make it to town with everything in tact; including their lives.

There had been a close call when one thief with a bow nearly shot an arrow straight through Jack’s heart, but Yang was able to deflect it in the nick of time. The valiant act had left Jack quite taken with his savior, thus the how-can-I-ever-repay-you spiel, thus the flirtation, thus the motel room, thus Yang’s current, crappy situation.

Jack let out a heavy sigh. “I think I’m done here,” he said pulling out and climbing off of her. She noticed he was already soft.

 _’m… I’m a boner killer,_ Yang thought in shame as she watched him pick up his boxers and redress.

“I’m sorry,” she said dejectedly, and she truly was. “That’s never happened before.”

Jack pulled his shirt over his head and tugged his messy mop of dark brown hair through the collar. “Yeah, well, first time for everything, right?” He was pissed. Yang didn’t blame him. The plus side was he looked way more attractive when he was angry. He needed to experiment with hate sex. It’d done wonders for her.

Yang crossed her legs in front of her and hugged them to her naked chest. “It was nice to meet you. And work for you… Jack,” she said, an attempt at light-heartedness. Now she was the awkward one. Oh, how the tables had turned.

Jack let out a small snort. “You’re definitely a great Huntress, Yang. I’ll give you that,” he admitted before sitting on the edge of the bed to put on his boots. “If I ever need someone to fend off thieves from my wagons again, I’ll keep you in mind.”

Yang brightened up upon hearing this. “I’d appreciate it.” Especially since Jack was an affiliate of her uncle Qrow. The last thing she wanted to do was sever a tie like that because of her overzealous libido.

 _That’s why you don’t mix business with pleasure,_ she imagined her uncle chiding her.

Gah, the last thing she needed was another ‘talk.’ She’d had one little less than a month ago when Qrow accidentally discovered the real relationship she had with her favorite distraction. Luckily, he’d let Mercury live and leave without so much as a word. But, it was only a matter of time before the scythe-wielding Hunter came face-to-face with the sassy assassin in what was sure to be either a very heated discussion or a very heated brawl. Maybe both. Poor Mercury didn’t even know it was coming. He still thought they’d done such a good job of keeping their extended fling secret. He was so cute when he was oblivious.

With a simple farewell, Jack left Yang alone in the motel. He had been the one to pay for the room, so it didn’t feel right for her to stay there. Wrapped up in bed sheets, Yang walked to the window and peered out of the blinds. The orange glow of the afternoon sunlight made her wince as her eyes adjusted. If she hurried, she could catch the last ferry of the day and make it back to Patch at a decent hour.

Her new objective fueling her speed, Yang dressed herself, gathered her belongings, hopped aboard her trusted motorcycle Bumblebee, and headed toward the docks. The whole way home, thoughts of Mercury flooded her mind. _Damn you,_ was her first one.


	2. People Who Love Pineapple

The broken moon cast an ominous glow over the Valian city below as a mercenary with hair as silver as the bullets adorning his boots sauntered down the street. He winked at a group of young women waiting outside of a nightclub, eliciting a number of giggles and blushes as he passed by.

“Why don’t you come in and dance with us?” a voluptuous woman wearing a very flattering red dress called after him.

Mercury smirked. “Sorry, I’ve got a prior engagement,” he replied, though his tone wasn’t all that apologetic.

“Is your prior engagement better than us?” another equally attractive woman asked.

Were they pizza? No, they weren’t. So the answer to her question was a resounding yes.

“Hey, kid. How’s it going? The usual, I presume?”

“You got it, Kal. Extra pineapple,” Mercury told the pudgy shop owner after entering his favorite pizzeria in Vale. He didn’t live in that particular city—hell, he didn’t live in any particular city—but this parlor always made him consider staying there. More so than the chicks, anyway.

The smell of freshly baked pizza filled his nostrils and made his empty stomach churn just taking in the appetizing aroma. The devilishly handsome mercenary licked his lips as he watched another patron’s pie being removed from the brick oven behind the counter. He hadn’t eaten all day, but if he wanted to have enough energy for his upcoming job, he needed some kind of sustenance. Peperoni and pineapple pizza would do just the trick.

“You know, not many people have an appreciation for pineapple pizza,” Kal noted.

“Heh,” Mercury chuckled to himself. _I can think of at least one more,_ he thought. An image of the pineapple-loving blonde flashed through his mind, her lilac eyes as bright as her smile.

He quickly shook his head, dispelling the golden haired beauty from his thoughts. He hated how much he caught himself thinking about her lately. Almost a month had passed since he’d last seen her, but they’d made quite a milestone during that most recent interaction.

 _“… My boyfriend’s a dangerous criminal who once helped start a war and framed me in front of all of Remnant,”_ Mercury recalled Yang saying when he asked what she might tell her father if he ever found out about their affair. The word _boyfriend_ had caught him completely off-guard at the time, mostly because it was exactly what he wanted to hear.

He and Yang had been fooling around since they were teenagers, and somewhere during the past six years Mercury developed actual feelings for her. Every girl after her hardly compared. Yang was the full package: funny, beautiful, smart, badass—not to mention the best lay he’d ever had. And for whatever reason, she saw something in him worthwhile enough to keep coming back. At the beginning, he just thought it was the sex. But after spending time with her and getting to know her on a more personal level, Mercury realized their connection had developed far beyond just physical.

They could joke together, spar together, talk about bad parenting together, and maintain their prosthetic limbs together. The amount of similarities they shared surprised even him sometimes, especially when a new one got added to the list.

So why had he let the girl of his dreams stay so far out of reach for all this time? That was easy: another similarity they shared was having a massive ego. They were both too stubborn to admit how they truly felt.

Although Yang had never verbally confirmed her affections for him, her actions had long since betrayed her. No matter how much she said she hated him or pretended not to care, there were always telltale signs that suggested otherwise. He could see it in the way she looked at him, he could hear it in the way she said his name, and he could feel it in the way she held him during his sporadic night terrors when she thought he was still asleep.

They were smitten with each other. And now it was finally official—or at least a heck of a lot closer.

“One large peperoni and pineapple pizza to go!” Kal called, snapping Mercury back to reality.

The hungry mercenary accepted the warm cardboard box with a grateful nod of his head. “Thanks, Kal. Put it on my tab,” he told him.

“You keep clobbering the Grimm that terrorize our city like you’ve been doing, and you can keep that tab open as long as you like,” Kal told him as Mercury waltzed out of the shop.

Although fighting Grimm wasn’t on his agenda that night, Mercury looked over his shoulder and gave a two-fingered salute regardless. “Will do,” he said. Another Grimm-slaying job would pop up eventually.

He couldn’t help but smile at the irony. Six years ago, he’d been one of the ones responsible for sicking the Grimm on the innocent civilians of Vale. Nowadays, he fought them so often he got free pizza as a means of thanks.

He grabbed a slice of gooey, cheesy, pineapple-and-pepperoni perfection from his box and took a ravenous bite.

 _Free pizza is much better,_ he decided as he savored the sweet and meaty flavor.

Another image of Yang flashed through his mind as he recalled how excited she was when she found out they liked the same kind of pizza. Mercury smiled at the memory.

_Much better._

Suddenly, his scroll went off. Mercury put the half-eaten pizza slice in his mouth so he could answer.

“Heh-hoh?” he said, pizza box in one hand and scroll in the other.

 _“Mercury? Where are you?”_ Emerald sounded angry. What else was new?

“Eah-hing pi-hah.”

_“What?”_

“Eah-hing pi-hah!”

 _“Whatever. I don’t care. Just get here. Now! Our informant was right about the warehouses, and our target is heading this way!”_ His perturbed partner hung up.

Mercury slid the scroll back in his pants pocket and removed the pizza from his teeth, tearing off another excessive bite in the process.

 _Time to go to work,_ he thought to himself with a smirk and a cheek full of pizza. Picking up his pace, he headed in the direction of the city’s warehouse district.


	3. Girl Talk

Ever since their last encounter, it was becoming increasingly difficult to feign indifference. Yang had always been bizarrely attracted to Mercury, so much so that she blamed her raging teenage hormones for the beginning of their little tryst—so certain it was just a physical thing. But the more she learned about him and the closer she got to him, the more she realized how much she cared about Mercury as a person, not just as an erotic escape. Although their meetings tended to be random and unplanned for the most part, they were never unwanted. Far from it, in fact.

“You should call him,” Ruby told her after Yang got home and explained the situation to her. The two sisters sat on Ruby’s bed, taking turns giving their pet corgi, Zwei, belly rubs. “He’s your boyfriend now, right? That’s totally a legitimate girlfriend thing to do!”

“Woah, woah, woah! Back up, Rubes. I can’t call him,” Yang protested, throwing her hands up in front of her defensively. “Not without a reason.”

They might’ve taken the big step in labeling their relationship, but nothing had really changed other than how much she thought about him now. She obviously still had sex with other people and assumed he did, too, since her ‘boyfriend’ hadn’t so much as messaged her in the past month. Why should she be the one to cave and call him?

“And that, dear sister, is why it took you over six years to officially get with this guy,” Ruby said with a sigh and a disapproving look. Zwei barked in agreement. “Who cares who calls who first? You don’t win if you wait! You can lose, though… So I would think twice before waiting too long.”

Yang typically didn’t talk about boy stuff with Ruby—mostly because they viewed relationships very differently. Also because up until about a month ago Mercury was still Yang’s dirty little secret. Ruby had known about their initial shenanigans, but had been blissfully unaware of their more recent intrigues. Having the truth out in the open was starting to feel surprisingly good, though, especially when she could talk through her feelings with her more than understanding sister like this.

“What should I tell him?” Yang asked.

Ruby propped her fist under her chin and considered. “You could tell him you want him to meet Dad. That’s the next step in a relationship anyway.”

Yang vehemently shook her head. “No way. We barely took any steps in six years. Now you want us to take two giant ones in one month? Get real. Ouch!” Yang massaged the place on her forehead Ruby had just flicked.

“Then stop complaining about how much you need to see him! You have the answer right in front of you. You just don’t like it. What are you so afraid of?”

Yang took a deep breath and repeated the question in her mind. _What **am** I so afraid of?_

“I think…” she said, biting her bottom lip as she found the right words. “I think I… just really like him. I always have. I kind of hoped it would be a phase and would go away with time. But anytime I’ve nearly forgotten him, he crosses my path with that same smug look on his face and the only thing I wind up forgetting is why I wanted to forget him in the first place.”

Ruby and Zwei both silently stared at Yang. “You need to call him,” Ruby decisively said, reaching into the pouch on Yang’s hip she knew she kept her scroll in. “After hearing a love confession like that, you have definitely got to call him.”

“Hey! Watch it!” Yang shouted, shoving her sister’s grabby hands away.

“Call him!” Ruby shouted, slamming her palms down on he bed so hard it scared Zwei away. “Or I’ll… I’ll… I’ll never play Remnant with you again!”

Yang’s eyes widened before just as quickly narrowing. “You don’t have the nerve,” she said, trying to call her sister’s bluff.

“I could say the same to you!” Ruby fired back. “You’re one of the gutsiest people I know! So suck it up, put your big girl panties on, and call your friggin’ boyfriend before I do it for you!”

Yang frowned and slowly reached for her scroll. She just as sulkily thumbed through her contacts before stopping at the name that read: DUMB ASS. Her finger hovered over the contact for a few seconds longer before she finally pressed it.

Yang put the scroll to her ear and Ruby snuggled closer with a satisfied smile. Yang didn’t mind. It would be easier if Ruby could hear what he said so she wouldn’t have to repeat it to her afterward. As her relationship counselor, she had a right to this information.

After the fourth ring, he picked up.

“M-Mercury?” Yang said, mentally slapping herself for stuttering. She hated when it was obvious he made her anxious. She took a deep breath and reminded herself who wore the pants in their relationship. “Hello? Are you there?”

 _“Yeah, I’m here,”_ he said. _“I’m just a little surprised is all. I don’t think you’ve ever called me like this.”_

“First time for everything, right?” Yang said with a bit of a forced laugh. She remembered Jack repeating those same words to her earlier, which in turn made her think of the awful sex they had, which in turn made her think of shouting Mercury’s name instead of Jack’s, which also made her feel even more tongue-tied than she already did. “Um. So… what are you up to?”

_“Just kickin’ it with a few friends,” he replied casually._

Yang furrowed her brow in confusion. “You don’t have any friends.”

 _“You don’t have any proof.”_ There was that sass she couldn’t help but smile at.

“Put one of them on the line,” she challenged.

The next sound she heard was of a man gagging. _“Sorry. That’s Wilber. He’s throwing up. Had one too many.”_

Yang rolled her eyes while Ruby stifled a laugh with her hand. “Sounds like your type of friend, all right,” Yang said. Mercury didn’t drink all that much, but the type of people he tended to associate with sure as hell did.

_“See? Statistically you can’t be the only person I get along with.”_

“Actually, Mercury, that’s why I was calling you…”

_“To talk about statistics?”_

“What? No. No… I was calling to talk about... how well you and I… get along…” Why was it so hard to put this into words? Should she have written it out first?

_“Hold on, Yang. I’m gonna have to put my scroll down for a sec.”_

Yang had been in her fair share of bars and battles, and the grunts, yells, bangs, and crashes coming from the other end of the scroll were much more comparable to the latter of the two. She and Ruby exchanged wide-eyed glances as the sounds of the scuffle became more apparent.

After several minutes, Mercury picked up again. _“Hey! You still there?”_

“Are you in the middle of a fight?” Yang demanded.

_“What gave you that idea?”_

“You better not have killed anybody,” she warned.

Mercury paused. _“One guy got a good whack to the head, but I think he’ll be okay.”_

“You seriously just had a scroll conversation and a smackdown at the same time...” Yang said in disbelief. She looked at Ruby who was fanning herself and mouthing the word _“Hot.”_ Yang smiled and playfully shoved Ruby’s shoulder. _I know he is,_ she wanted to say, but refrained. _Baby steps._ Maybe not six-year-long baby steps, but baby steps nonetheless.

_“Well, it was my first ever call from a girlfriend, so it was kind of important.”_

Yang bit back a laugh and shook her head. “Mercury, you amaze even me sometimes.”

_“Aren’t you worried you’ll make my ego explode?”_

“If I thought there was a limit to how big it could get.” She bit her bottom lip in an attempt to make her smile smaller. It was getting embarrassing.

 _“Listen, I’m gonna have to let you go. But I’ll give you a call back in about ten minutes.”_ Before Yang could object, he ended the call.

Yang let out a long, audible exhale and tossed the scroll in the center of Ruby’s bed. She’d done it; she’d survived the dreaded call. Now she just had to wait for him to call back so she could actually invite him over. The hard part was yet to come.

Suddenly, Ruby scrambled off of the bed and onto her feet, making her way to her bedroom door. Her speed was only a few rose petals away from tapping into her semblance.

“Where are you going?” Yang asked, a little taken aback by Ruby’s unexpected burst of energy.

“To make popcorn. You two are super entertaining! I can’t wait for part two!” Ruby shouted as she ran out of the room.

Yang sighed and stretched out onto her stomach. “I guess that means she ships us,” she said, crossing her arms in front of her and lowering her chin to rest on her wrist. She patiently eyed the scroll device laying inches in front of her, silently wondering what was happening where Mercury was. “You better not get yourself hurt, dumb ass,” she quietly mumbled.


	4. The Fight and the Scroll Call

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m not really a computer person, so just imagine that the technology in this chapter is more magical than real world technology… As often is the case in the RWBY universe anyway! With that in mind, enjoy!

Emerald Sustrai stood alone on the roof of a building overlooking the warehouse district of the vast Valian city, the night air cool against her brown skin. Why their rendezvous had to be so close to the fishing docks, she wasn’t sure. Doing her best not to gag from the smell, Emerald held up the silver bracer surrounding her forearm and looked down at the radar screen attached to it. She’d succeeded in placing a tracker on one of her leads just hours before. Now it was a waiting game until the poor fool led them to the right location.

Emerald’s dark red eyes studied the blinking blip on her radar so intently that she seemed completely unaware of the person approaching her from behind.

“You’re late,” she said, not even turning to face her partner. They were supposed to rendezvous at sunset. The last bit of sunlight had faded from view nearly two hours ago.

“I’d rather be late than hungry,” Mercury told her, licking his fingers after polishing off his fourth slice of pizza. He opened the box and offered Emerald some. She sighed and accepted a serving.

“Geez, why do they always load it with so many pineapples?” she complained, picking off every chunk of the tangy fruit like it was the dirtiest, most rotten piece of produce in all of Remnant.

Mercury shrugged his shoulders. “It’s a mystery,” he said before chomping into his fifth slice. “So what’s the target’s location?” he thought to ask, remembering they were on a mission.

Emerald glanced down at the radar. “Lamar and Fifth Avenue. Looks like they’re headed toward the southwest side of the warehouses.” She turned her attention to Mercury and asked, “Do you need to go over the plan?”

“I would say yes, but since things hardly ever go according to plan, what’s the point?”

“Mercury, I swear, if you don’t shut up and get serious I’ll punch you so hard you’ll throw up every goddamn piece of pineapple and pepperoni pizza you’ve had in the past two weeks!”

“Geez, woman. You think I haven’t gone to the bathroom in two weeks?”

“ERRRGGGGHHH!” Emerald roared, throwing her hands up in frustration. “Why do I put up with you?”

_Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep._

Emerald’s tracker was going off. The target had stopped moving. Mercury took one glance at the radar and saw the blip positioned underneath the number 88. _Warehouse 88._ That wasn’t too far.

“I guess I’ll just have to remind you,” he said with a wink before dropping his pizza and dashing across the roof.

“Remember Abigail is our payoff! Find her first and foremost, then worry about the rest!” Emerald called after him. He decided it would be more fun to make her mad than to acknowledge her and continued running without any indication he’d received the message.

His legs may have been what marked him as handicapped, but they did nothing to hinder his speed. If anything, his mechanical muscles made him stronger and faster, for they didn’t tire like regular human legs. He was literally built for speed, and he made damn good use of it.

Once he reached the edge of the rooftop, Mercury jumped into the air and used the firing mechanism in his boots to propel himself forward. The boot boost was enough to give him temporary flight, and he soared from one rooftop to the next until he reached the designated warehouse.

Staying hidden in the shadows, Mercury slinked his way to the door leading down from the roof. He silently descended the metal steps before noticing the rather large, climbable crates stacked perfectly for him in a towering row that led all the way to the front of the warehouse. He could use them to stay elevated and hidden. Perfect.

With one leap off the stair’s railing, Mercury clambered up to the top of the crates and made his way to the warehouse’s main entrance. He slowed when he heard voices, making sure that stealth took precedence over speed. Once he made it to the crate closest to the targets, Mercury turned to lie on his back and listened for his cue.

“Hurry up! I ain’t got all night,” a man with a nasally voice called.

“I hear ya, I hear ya,” another, more gruff man answered.

“How’s the latest catch look?” a third man asked. He sounded young. Not younger than Mercury, but not much older.

“You’ll see for yourself when they get here, Wilber,” the nasal man said. “Speak of the devil…”

A creaky, metallic door announced the arrival more people. Mercury scooted closer to the edge of the crate until he could glance down and see the scene unfolding below.

“’Bout time you bozos showed up,” the nasal guy sneered. He was a short, balding man with a shirt that was two sizes too small for his bulbous figure. Flanking him was a big muscular dude and a much scrawnier subordinate. All three of them were facing two more men who were holding either arm of an unconscious young woman.

“Ain’t she a beaut?” one of the woman’s captors asked. The short and stout man approached her, tilting her chin up with his hand so that her platinum blond hair parted and revealed her pale, pretty face.

Mercury reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out the picture his client had given him to reference. He was too far away to tell for sure, but the hair and body type matched perfectly with the girl in the photograph.

“That’s gotta be Abigail…” Mercury said, only he hadn’t meant to say it out loud.

The short man’s eyes immediately darted up, but Mercury turned away just in time to avoid being caught. He closed his eyes and cursed himself for being so stupid.

“Let’s make this fast. This place is givin’ me the creeps,” the short man said.

“Lien first,” a new voice ordered, most likely the other captor who had yet to speak.

“Relax, relax. We got ya money,” Shorty assured him. “Wilber. Get the case.”

There was a brief pause in conversation until Mercury heard the sounds of metal clasps being undone.

“Looks good,” the second captor said. “Pleasure doin’ business with you gentlemen. Tell Maurice I said hello.”

“Eh, you got it. And you’s guys do your best to keep the good ones comin’. The prettier they are, the better.”

“You still takin’ ‘em to the same place?”

“Well, as of last month—”

_Do-do-do-do-do-doo-doo. Do-do-do-do-do-doo-doo._

_Shit!_

Mercury’s hand flew to his back pocket to silence his scroll, but the damage had already been done.

_Who the hell is calling me?!_

It was Yang.

“What the fuck?! Someone tailin’ you?!” Shorty bellowed.

So much for stealth. After performing a kick flare from his back to his feet, Mercury jumped down from his lofty perch atop the crates and landed superhero style right in front of the human traffickers before accepting Yang’s call.

“Who da hell are you?” the gruff sounding trafficker asked, his pitch a tad bit higher than before.

 _“M-Mercury?”_ came Yang’s voice.

Mercury assumed a fighting stance, holding the scroll to his ear with one hand and inviting the traffickers to come at him with the other.

_“Hello? Are you there?”_

“Yeah, I’m here,” he said, dodging his first attacker’s lunge and executing three swift kicks to his lower back, abdomen, and knees respectively. “I’m just a little surprised is all. I don’t think you’ve ever called me like this.”

 _“First time for everything, right?”_ Yang said with a laugh. God he loved her laugh, even the half-assed ones.

The next attacker—the one with the gruff voice—pulled a knife on him. For each step his opponent took forward, Mercury took a parrying step backward, ducking when necessary to avoid every stab and swipe.

_“Um. So… what are you up to?”_

Mercury did a hitch kick to knock the knife out of his attacker’s hand before performing a roundhouse kick to his head and laying the muscular man out flat.

“Just kickin’ it with a few friends,” Mercury said, eyeing the scrawny one named Wilber. Wilber shakily pulled a dust gun from his jacket and aimed it at Mercury’s chest. It was clear this guy was the greenest of them all, and Mercury might have shown him mercy if he didn’t think he was dealing in the upmost shittiest business on the face of Remnant. Even during the darkest of Mercury’s days, he never once considered dealing in human trafficking. Ever.

 _“You don’t have friends.”_ Ha. She had him there.

“You don’t have proof,” Mercury retorted, facing off against Wilber.

_“Put one of them on the line.”_

Wilber fired a shot, but it would’ve missed him even if Mercury hadn’t evaded it. Nevertheless, Mercury dived forward and out of what should’ve been harm’s way, thrusting a solid high kick to Wilber’s stomach as he rolled out of his flip. Mercury held the scroll up to Wilber’s mouth just in time to catch him gagging in agony.

“Sorry. That’s Wilber,” Mercury said, pulling the scroll back to his ear. “He’s throwing up. Had one too many.”

_“Sounds like your type of friend, all right.”_

Speaking of, where were his other friends? Mercury scanned the warehouse and saw the last two traffickers hauling ass in the opposite direction as well as hauling a shiny, silver suitcase and the comatose young woman.

“See? Statistically you can’t be the only person I get along with,” he told Yang as he chased after them.

_“Actually, Mercury, that’s why I was calling you…”_

“To talk about statistics?”

Once Mercury made it to the back of the warehouse, he screeched to a halt, his boots sparking against the pavement as he stopped. The traffickers had called reinforcements and their reinforcements had guns. Mercury got to seventeen before he gave up counting.

_“What? No. No… I was calling to talk about... how well you and I… get along…”_

Mercury eyed the group of thugs, waiting for someone to make the first move.

“Hold on, Yang. I’m gonna have to put my scroll down for a sec,” he told her, moving to lay his device on the ground.

With both hands free for combat, Mercury cracked his knuckles and attacked. He did a string of back handsprings, shooting off dust-charged projectiles with every flip. The enhanced pellets found their targets like heat-seeking missiles, smacking them in their faces and knocking them out cold. He kicked one guy into a stack of crates and another into a box of packing foam. After a number of various kicks, counterattacks, and boot bullets, Mercury was the last man standing. Dusting off his hands, he strode over to his scroll and crouched to pick it up.

“Hey! You still there?” he asked, albeit a little winded.

_“Are you in the middle of a fight?”_

Mercury glanced around at the unconscious enemies surrounding him. “What gave you that idea?” he asked, making his voice sound as innocent as possible.

_“You better not have killed anybody.”_

Mercury looked to the guy he’d sent flying through the crates and saw he was still breathing. “One guy got a good whack to the head, but I think he’ll be okay.”

 _“You seriously just had a scroll conversation and a smackdown at the same time...”_ she sounded like she couldn’t decide if she wanted to scold him or kiss him.

“Well, it was my first ever call from a girlfriend, so it was kind of important.” Mercury bit his tongue after he said it. Was he being too cheesy? Did he just lose all of his cool points for kicking ass and answering her call at the same time?

_“Mercury, you amaze even me sometimes.”_

_Fuck yeah! Cool points still intact,_ he triumphantly thought. “Aren’t you worried you’ll make my ego explode?” he asked, unable to keep himself from smiling.

_“If I thought there was a limit to how big it could get.”_

Just then, a giant robotic weapon—compliments of the Schnee Dust Company no doubt—burst through several crates, sending woodchips flying. It was the type of robot that took a person to pilot it. Mercury was willing to bet his semblance the one controlling this massive machine was the stout little man with the nasally voice. Men of short stature tended to compensate.

“Listen, I’m gonna have to let you go. But I’ll give you a call back in about ten minutes,” Mercury promised Yang before sliding the scroll into his back pocket.

“You really think you can plow through this thing in ten minutes?” The robot’s intercom system made the man’s voice sound even more annoying than his nasal passage did.

Mercury’s mouth curved into a signature smirk as he parted his stance and raised his fists. “Nah. I was thinking more like two, but I didn’t want her to think my ego was any bigger than she already does.”

Sure enough, he had the robot down and the fun-sized foe begging for his life in ninety seconds flat.

“Where is she?” Mercury asked, his boot digging into the man’s thick neck. “Tell me while I’m still considering letting you live.”

“I don’t know where he took her. Wherever my boss is,” the man whimpered.

“Who’s your boss?” Mercury asked, digging a bit deeper with his heel.

“If I tell you that, I’m dead!”

“And what do you think you’ll be if you don’t tell me?”

“Relax, Mercury. I got her.”

Mercury turned to see Emerald approaching with about a dozen members of the city’s local police force. Among them was the blond young woman from before, conscious and seemingly unharmed. Although her makeup was smeared, her hair was tangled, and her expression was bleak, she was indeed identical to the girl in his client’s photograph.

“Abigail?” Mercury verified, to which the young woman nodded. He looked to his partner. “Nice work, Em.”

“No thanks to you! You were the one who was supposed to tail them!” Emerald barked, her red eyes fierce.

Mercury shifted his weight to make his stance slightly more lackadaisical, but not enough to release the man from beneath his boot. “I told you things never go according to plan,” he said.

“They might if you ever tried to stick to one,” Emerald argued. “Luckily, you had me as your backup.”

“That’s why I never worry,” Mercury said with a shit-eating grin.

Emerald had been keeping an eye on warehouse 88 from outside. When she noticed the blip on her radar moving again, she found the man carrying Abigail and followed him all the way to one of the many ships docked at the nearby port. Once she dealt with the trafficker and secured Abigail, she alerted the authorities to the ship’s location and let them handle the rest. The entire warehouse district was on lockdown within a matter of minutes.

“I just received word that we’ve located ten of the other missing girls aboard the ship as well,” the chief officer said.

“Ten?” Mercury repeated. There were supposed to be twenty-seven. “What about the rest?”

“We don’t have to worry about the rest,” Emerald said through gritted teeth. Her voice was so hushed only Mercury could hear.

“We plan to interrogate the suspects we’ve managed to apprehend tonight. We’ll get the answers and find the other missing ladies soon,” the chief officer assured them.

Mercury hated letting other people do his work for him, but technically his work was already done. Abigail’s father was the one who’d hired them, and he was only paying them for rescuing his daughter. Like Emerald said, they didn’t have to worry about the rest; at least not until someone paid them to.  
He glanced at his partner; her face was hard and her gaze was vacant. He knew she liked to wear the crown of an ice queen, but he also knew she was wondering what horrible fate had befallen the unaccounted for girls. Why else would she have given the police a free tipoff about the ship? She totally cared.

Mercury felt the pathetic man still wedged between his foot and the floor struggle for breath. “So what should we do with this guy?” he asked, tapping said guy’s head with the side of his boot.

“We’ll take him from here,” one of the officers said, brandishing a pair of handcuffs. Mercury stepped back and let the law enforcement do their jobs.

“Thank you so much for saving me,” Abigail said to Mercury the moment the opportunity presented itself, ensnaring him in a tight embrace. “I was so scared, you have no idea!”

Mercury tentatively pat the top of her head. “Sure thing,” he said. It wasn’t a very soothing gesture, but he wasn’t a very soothing guy.

Her hug was harmless enough, but then it led to her hand making its way a little further south. The officers were too busy with the criminal to notice. Emerald sure wasn’t though, and verbalized an appropriate “Ugh,” in response.

“How can I ever repay you?” she asked in a seductive whisper, looking up at him with big blue eyes that suddenly seemed much hungrier than before.

Mercury grabbed her wrist and gently removed her hand. “You can start by telling your father to pay what he owes me and my partner. And then you can stop hanging around shitty parts of town so something like this never happens again.”

Abigail’s expression turned a mixture of astonishment, embarrassment, and disgust, but the impressed look Emerald had on her face was just as priceless.

“Never thought I’d see the day…” Emerald mentioned as they made their way back to their hotel with two wallets full of Lien. After some brief questioning down at the police station, the pair of mercenaries had escorted Abigail back home and received their reward in full. The sky above was beginning to turn a light periwinkle color now. Dawn was fast approaching. What a night it had been.

“Mercury Black turned down sex,” Emerald continued. “And not just any sex. Sex with a hottie!”

“She wasn’t that hot…”

“That girl was a ten and you know it!”

“Eh. Seven and a half at best. She was gangly. And she wore too much makeup.”

“Psh, okay.” Emerald still didn’t sound convinced.

“Oh, shit!”

“What is it?” Emerald asked, so startled she made a move to reach for her weapons.

“I need to call Yang back!” Mercury said, retrieving his scroll. “Fuck.”

Emerald let out a sigh of relief before a big light bulb seemed to click in her head. “That makes sense.”

Mercury thumbed through his contact list without looking up. “What makes sense?” he asked absentmindedly.

“The reason you turned down the damsel in distress. You’ve got Yang on the brain.”

“What? No. That has nothing to do with it. She just wasn’t my type.”

“Anything with a vagina is your type.”

“Will you come off it already?” Yang’s scroll was ringing.

“And since when do you and Yang play scroll tag?” Emerald asked.

Mercury ignored her and waited for Yang, though he half expected her to answer. The sun wasn’t even up yet. Why should she be?

_“Hello? Mercury?”_

“Hey, Blondie. Sorry it took so long to get back to you. Did I wake you up?”

_“It’s five o’clock in the fucking morning. Of course you woke me up! What happened to you?!”_

“You weren’t worried, were you?” he teased.

Emerald shook her head and rolled her eyes. She wasn’t sure if he realized it or not, but Mercury started smiling the second he heard Yang’s voice—and not just his usual, arrogant smirk of a smile. It was the kind of smile people had when they weren’t self-conscious at all; when they were genuinely happy. It was the kind of smile only Yang seemed to ever bring out in him.

“About time,” she muttered under her breath, falling a few paces behind Mercury to give him a little more privacy. “About. Damn. Time.”


	5. What's for Dinner?

"Why did I have that extra slice of cake last night?" Yang chastised herself as she studied her figure in the mirror. She was wearing her favorite pair of black shorts, laced with white frills and detailed with yellow stitching. They were buttoning a littler tighter than they used to, though. No more sweets until that changes, she decided.

She’d borrowed one of Ruby’s tops; a black corset halter with more buckles and metal studs than were necessary. Yang loved the way the back of the corset laced with big, satin ribbon so much that she decided to nix the jacket she had been considering throwing on top in favor of showing off the intricate detail of the corset instead.

“Too much black. You look like you’re going to a funeral,” Ruby said after assessing the outfit.

I very well might be, Yang thought to herself as she turned to evaluate how good the shorts made her backside look. Mercury was coming to Patch to meet her father and uncle. If he didn’t keep his mouth in check and his hands to himself, he might not make it out alive.

“I really like how these shorts hug my butt, though,” Yang said, pivoting to better show Ruby what she meant. “It’s just my tummy…”

“Your tummy looks fine,” Ruby said, playfully smacking the skin exposed between the bottom of the corset and the top of her shorts. “But I still say no to the shorts. What about those brown, low-rise cargo capris?”

“You want me to change from shorts to cargo pants? Are you insane?” Yang asked with raised eyebrows. She was trying to look sexy, and cargo pants didn’t exactly do the best job of accentuating her features.

“Trust me. If you’re not going to wear the jacket, you’ve got enough skin showing up here to make it interesting,” Ruby said, gesturing with both hands from her navel to her neck. “Plus, those cute high-heeled sneakers would look way better with cargo capris than shorts, especially if you roll one leg of them up to the knee and tie it off with your purple scarf.”

Yang had to give her sister props. All those shopping trips with Coco over the years had definitely taught her a thing or two about fashion. Deciding to put some faith in her sister’s expertise, Yang shimmied out of her favorite shorts and into the baggy cargo capris, adjusting them as Ruby had suggested.

“Much better!” Ruby gleefully chirped. “You look hot, but you also don’t look like a whore; something I think Dad will approve of.”

Yang glared at her fashion consultant for the whore remark, but decided to let it slide since she had a point. She wasn’t just dressing to impress Mercury, though in the back of her mind she couldn’t help but ask herself why she was dressing to impress anyone at all. It wasn’t like she’d ever put any real effort in to her appearance during her previous encounters with Mercury. She was usually either dirty from missions or completely bumming it because she was off duty when she bumped into him. There was never time to worry about what she was wearing or how disheveled she looked. It also didn’t help that they never planned their little reunions; they just sort of happened.

Today, that was different. Today was the start of something new. Today, Yang Xiao Long was introducing Mercury Black to her family as her first official boyfriend ever—and she was terrified.

“Why does my stomach hurt?” she asked, clutching at her midriff.

“Probably nerves,” Ruby guessed.

“I don’t get nervous. Not about this stuff,” Yang lied.

Ruby just smiled and shrugged her shoulders. “Maybe you’ll feel better if I do your hair for you,” she said, retreating into the bathroom to grab a hairbrush.

The only thing that was going to make her feel better was if Mercury called and canceled.

Yang sighed and reached for a thick, black studded belt sprawled across her bed among other outfit options. Strapping the extra accessory around her waist at an angle, she stepped back in front of her mirror to admire her complete ensemble. She tried to imagine how Mercury would react once he saw how stunning she looked. She wanted to remember his expression clearly so she could tease him about it later.

She should’ve known better.

The moment Yang opened the front door, Mercury was too busy sweeping her up into his arms and pressing his lips to hers to notice what she was wearing. Now that she thought about it, he probably would’ve preferred her without any clothes at all. What had she been thinking? All that time primping and planning, wasted.

“Mercury—” Yang tried to say, but her words were cut off by a second kiss that was just as fervent as the first. She struggled, but he gripped her tighter, slamming her back against the doorframe and smiling against her mouth. It wasn’t until he heard the sound of a grown man clearing the phlegm from his throat that Mercury realized he and Yang weren’t alone.

“Eh-eh-hem!”

Mercury paused mid-kiss, gray eyes wide and staring back at Yang. She watched with bated breath as her stupefied boyfriend slowly broke the kiss and turned his head to see an athletic blond man with a tattoo on his right bicep standing in the middle of the living room, arms firmly folded across his chest.

Immediately, Mercury released his grip on Yang’s thighs, allowing her to softly step her high heel sneakers down to the floor and readjust her halter-top. Gathering his typical cool composure, Mercury approached the man and offered a handshake.

“Yang’s father, I presume.”

“Taiyang,” he corrected, ignoring the handshake and staring at the smudge of pink lipstick smeared on the side of Mercury’s mouth. “But you can call me _sir.”_

Mercury withdrew his hand and held it to his temple in a mock salute. “Sir, yes, sir.”

Yang slapped her palm to her forehead.

_He’s gonna die. He’s gonna die._

If she braced herself for it, maybe the shock of it actually happening wouldn’t be so bad.

Just when Yang thought the tension in the room couldn’t get any thicker, in walked her uncle. The seasoned Hunter’s bright red eyes looked Mercury up and down in a way that told Yang he was searching for weapons and weaknesses—the same kind of look he reserved for any number of enemies.

“Uncle Qrow. I believe you’ve met Mercury,” Yang said, straining to keep her voice as casual as possible. All of the circumstances they had _"met"_ under were pretty terrible.

“Not formally,” Qrow replied in his deep, raspy tone. “I’m Qrow Branwen, Yang’s uncle.” He didn’t sound a smidge more cordial than her father.

Mercury nodded, refraining from offering another unwanted handshake. “Mercury Black,” he said. His introduction was followed by an excruciatingly long pause.

As Yang stood there racking her brain for things to say, the rhythmic tick-tock of the room’s grandfather clock echoed through the emptiness. It almost felt like it was counting down the reasons that this whole meet-the-family thing was a very bad idea.

Yang shook the unhelpful thoughts from her head. If she and Mercury were going to try and make this work as an actual couple, this was something they inevitably had to do. Yang’s family was important to her, just like Mercury was. They didn’t have to get along like best friends. They just had to tolerate each other. That’s all she wanted.

Finally, Taiyang spoke.

“I would say, ‘How did you and Yang meet,’ but I know it was during the Vytal Festival six years ago around the same time you framed my daughter and made her look like a complete scumbag in front of the entire world. I would say, ‘What do you do for a living,’ but I know its not an honorable occupation, and quite frankly the less I know about it the better. I would say, ‘What are your intentions with my daughter,’ if I didn’t already have a pretty accurate idea. So tell me, Mercury Black, what is it you think I should say?”

Yang frowned as she felt her heart sink. Who knew the prolonged awkward silence would be more preferable over the actual talking? She glanced at Mercury who—much to her surprise—didn’t falter in the slightest.

Maintaining a mildly amused expression, Mercury crossed his arms and spread his feet hip-width distance apart to mirror Taiyang’s stance. “You could say, ‘What do you want for dinner?’ Or you could say, ‘I taught my badass daughter how to fight, so don’t fuck with me.’ Only you’re already saying the second option without actually verbalizing it, aren’t you? I guess that narrows it down to option number one, then. So what’s for dinner?”

Taiyang and Mercury continued their impasse; eyes locked on one another, lips hard thin lines, stances unmoving. There was so much negative energy floating around that Yang was shocked the Grimm weren’t right on top of them.

“You’ve got some pretty big balls to talk to me like that in my own house,” Taiyang said.

Mercury’s mouth twitched. He undoubtedly wanted to say something back, it probably just would’ve gotten him kicked out, Yang guessed. She would have to thank him later for holding his tongue.

After what felt like an eternity, Taiyang spoke again. “Regardless, my daughter asked me to allow you into our home, and I already agreed. So welcome.” He took a few steps forward and offered Mercury the handshake he’d withheld earlier.

Mercury’s lips slanted up slightly—not his signature smirk, but not his signature frown either. “I appreciate it, sir,” he said as he accepted the gesture. Yang silently wondered if her father’s grip was as stern as his expression.

“Just know,” Qrow added, turning everyone’s attention to his side of the room. “If, for whatever reason, you ever decide to cross my niece again—if you break her heart, if you make her cry, if you so much as fuck up just one more time—consider yourself a dead man. Other than that, welcome to Patch. Or should I say welcome back?”

To most people, a threat like that would sound pretty empty—a typical, cliché warning that all protective uncles would say to weed out the douchebag boyfriends. But Qrow wasn’t like most uncles and his threats came off as anything but empty.

With burning red eyes just daring Mercury to try him, Qrow stared him down in yet another deadlock. Mercury held his gaze without blinking.

“Whew! Good! Glad introductions are out of the way!” Yang said as she clapped her hands together. Her cheerfulness was completely out of place, but she’d decided that was enough death threats and staring contests for one day. “Why don’t we all move into the kitchen and I’ll make us some—”

“Actually, I was hoping Mercury could help me with a little yard work first,” Taiyang said, tossing Mercury a pair of work gloves that had been dangling out of his back pocket.

Mercury caught the gloves one-handedly and looked to Yang with eyes as pitiful as a puppy’s. Unfortunately, there was no saving him.

“S-sure. That works,” Yang stammered. “Dinner will be ready by 5:30.”

With a nod to his daughter, Taiyang ushered Mercury through the living room and into the kitchen to a door that led to the backyard. “By the way, we’re having turkey whether you want it or not,” he told him as they walked outside.


	6. Black and White

A little yard work? One weeded garden, two pyramids of chopped firewood, and three enormous piles of compost later, Mercury took shelter from the afternoon sun in the backyard tool shed. It was mid autumn, so the heat wasn’t as unbearable as it could have been, but it was still enough to eventually make him discard his shirt.

He dabbed his brow with the back of his hand and took a swig of water from the canteen Taiyang had graciously given him at the start of their workload. Apparently dehydration wasn’t the death he and Qrow had planned for him.

“Nice work on the compost,” Taiyang said, carrying two shovels as he entered the shed behind him. He’d become a bit more amicable toward Mercury after seeing his work ethic. “This is one of the best times of the year to fertilize. The plants that bloom come springtime will thank us later.” He took the shovels to the back wall and hung them on their respective racks.

“Great,” Mercury said, his voice dry and monotone. 

Taiyang chuckled at his less than enthusiastic response. “There’s one last thing I’d like your help with. Then you’re free to wash up before dinner. Huntsman’s honor.”

Mercury took one last sip from his canteen before capping it off. “Sir, yes, sir.”

Taiyang walked over to the other side of the shed where a very large drape covered something very big and bulky. With one hand, he removed the drape and revealed a red and rusted riding lawnmower.

“Ta-dah!” Taiyang sang out.

Mercury lightly applauded. “You gonna pull a bunny out of your hat next? Or maybe saw me in half?”

Taiyang gave him a look that said the latter might be likely if he didn’t watch his sass. “Nope. We’re gonna fix it,” he declared. He walked over to the wall of tools behind Mercury and reached for a wrench before handing it off. Mercury apathetically accepted it. At least his last task was in the shade of the shed.

After replacing both the starter and the bad sparkplug with Taiyang, Mercury mounted the mower and attempted to start it up. Much to both of their dismay, the engine wouldn’t turn.

“Dammit. What gives?” Taiyang spat, placing his hands on his hips.

Mercury hopped off the driver’s seat and took another look under the engine’s hood. “When’s the last time you rode this?” he asked.

Taiyang rubbed the stubble of his chin as he considered. “It’s been over a year. She’s been out of commission for a while now.”

Mercury nodded. He’d been expecting that answer. “I’m pretty sure it’s the carburetor,” he said. “When you leave old fuel in the engine for a long time, it can evaporate and cause clogs. It’s a fairly easy fix, though. Just gotta drain the old fuel from the float bowl and clean the carburetor.”

Taiyang snapped his jaw shut when he realized it’d gone slack. “Y-yeah. Yeah, let’s do that, then.”

“Do you have some sort of container to drain the fuel into?” Mercury asked.

Taiyang sifted through a cabinet beneath his workbench and retrieved a tin pail. He handed it to Mercury and watched him work.

“You know, I gotta say, I wasn’t expecting you to be such a diligent worker. Your knowledge about machinery is even more impressive,” Taiyang admitted.

Mercury used a wrench to remove the carburetor bolt, causing the fuel to trickle out into the pail. “Well, I’ve had plenty of practice,” he said nonchalantly. “Sir,” he thought to add. He could feel Taiyang’s eyes on his legs and knew which question was coming next.

“Have you ever cheated at dance contests?”

Mercury blinked in bewilderment. Okay. So maybe he hadn’t known which question was coming next. “Um, pardon?”

“You know. Because you’re so good at the robot!” Taiyang said, slapping his knee and howling with laughter.

Mercury forced a small laugh through his nose and shook his head. He could see where Yang got her sense of humor. “Like father like daughter,” he mused. At least he knew how to lighten the mood like her, too. “I’ve been told my fighting style kind of looks like dance moves,” he confessed, tapping the tin pail as it continued to fill with fuel.

“Is that so? Who taught you how to fight?”

Mercury paused, but decided not to prolong it lest he ruin the nice mood he and Taiyang finally managed to create. “My father,” he said.

Apparently his pause had been a bit too long after all, for Taiyang didn’t know how to respond.

“You know, when Yang first told me that she wanted you and I to meet, my initial reply was no,” Mercury confided. His lips curled up into a slight smirk before he added, “Actually, my word-for-word initial reply was: _‘hell the fuck no.’_ But even before she started begging and bargaining—”

Taiyang cleared his throat the same way he had when he’d caught them making out earlier, warning Mercury to get to the point without all the details. Mercury’s voice caught in his throat as he took the hint.

“Ah, um, even before I finally agreed, sir,” he continued, “I thought, man, how cool would it be to hang out with a father who actually cared? To talk with him, laugh with him, and do stuff just like this?”

With the fuel completely drained, Mercury took a rag to the float bowl and cleaned it. “The closest thing I got to bonding time with my old man was training,” Mercury said bitterly, his fingers digging roughly into the bowl as he scrubbed. “And it was always the best after he’d had a drink or two… or ten. Those were the nights I wasn’t sure I was going to wake up from.”

Mercury tossed the dirty rag over his shoulder. “All my life I had two options: I could either choose to be exactly like my father, or choose to be the complete opposite,” he said as he retrieved his wrench and began replacing the float bowl’s bolt. “I know you don’t think I’m the most honorable human being, and I’ll go ahead and fill you in on a little secret: you’re not wrong. My life is full of bad decisions and gigantic mistakes. But believe me when I say I could’ve turned out a lot worse.”

Taiyang snorted. “You want me to give you a slap on the back and congratulate you on not being as much of an asshole as you could’ve been?”

Mercury tightened his jaw and said nothing. He wasn’t sure what made him comfortable enough to gush so much to Taiyang within five hours of meeting him. Hell, not even Emerald knew the entire truth about his childhood traumas. The only person Mercury had even remotely opened up to about his past was Yang. So why was he doing it now? Did he subconsciously want that pat on the back? Did he want his girlfriend’s father’s approval? Or was it something else?

“Look. I know I came off a little protective at first…”

Mercury gave Taiyang a look that told him to stop kidding himself.

“Okay. I was extremely protective at first, but that’s only because you’re not the only person to grow up emulating a parent. Yang is so much like me it’s scary. It’s scary because I know all of the dumb shit I used to get into and how reckless I was all of the time… at least until Yang was born… and Raven left…” Taiyang swallowed the lump forming in his throat and continued. “It’s scary because I don’t want Yang to suffer the same heartbreak I did. I’d even go so far to say it was the worst pain I’ve ever endured, and—as a Hunter—I’ve had my fair share of injuries. So when I see her with someone as… dangerous as you, walking that same potholed path I know all too well, I can’t help but be reminded of her mother and how quickly she abandoned Yang for the sake of her own selfish agenda. I can’t help but think it’s only a matter of time before…”

“Before I do the same,” Mercury finished.

There it was—cards all on the table. The real reason Taiyang didn’t take to Mercury had little to do with his past offenses and everything to do with Taiyang’s own failed relationship. Now why didn’t that seem fair?

“I realize you’re not the same people—”

“No, I don’t think you do,” Mercury interjected. “I think you see the world very black-and-white, sir. There are good guys, there are bad guys, and that’s it. There’s no gray area for someone like me to fall into, so that automatically lands me in the fated color that my name would suggest—the color I was born to bear, regardless of my choices. Regardless of how many times I decided to not be like my father. Regardless of all the good I’ve done to repent for all of the bad. It doesn’t matter, because I’ll always be nothing more than a villain. At least in your eyes.

“But that’s why I like the way your daughter looks at me,” Mercury continued after a brief moment, the burning sensation in his chest slightly quelled at the thought of Yang. “There are days when I think exactly like you do, sir—when I think I’m so far gone, there’s no way in hell I can bounce back from the awful things I’ve done. Once a killer always a killer, right? But then I see Yang looking at me with those eyes—those goddamn beautiful eyes—and suddenly I see myself the way she does. I’m not perfect, but I’m not hopeless. I have flaws, but so does everybody. No matter how lost I get in my own darkness, she’s never afraid to share her light with me. It really makes me wonder how someone so opposite has so many things in common with me at the same time…

“So, if you hate me because I once humiliated your daughter in front of millions of people on international television, fine. If you hate me because I’m not opposed to taking an odd job or two that might not be the most politically correct, I get it. But if you’re saying you hate me because you see me in the same light as Yang’s mother—for no legitimately good reason, mind you—and you think I’m going to callously abandon the best thing that’s ever happened to me… then fuck you.”

Taiyang’s azure blue eyes were considering him much differently than they had before. The lightheartedness that had briefly been there was gone, of course, but so was the animosity. For the first time since he’d met him, Taiyang wasn’t looking at Mercury like some punk-ass kid; he was looking at him like an adult. Mercury wouldn’t venture so far as to say an equal, but there was a fair amount of unspoken respect radiating from him now.

After another of their standoffs the pair had seemed to grow so fond of, Taiyang grabbed a gallon of fuel and handed it to Mercury.

“Why don’t you see if she starts?” Taiyang suggested, his expression hard and unreadable.

Without a word, Mercury filled the tank and climbed into the driver’s seat of the lawnmower. With one strong turn of the keys, the engine roared to life.

The corners of Taiyang’s lips curved into a small smile. “Looks like you earned your dinner,” he said.

Still at a loss for words, Mercury experimented with the gears, checking to see if the rest of the mower was in working order. It wasn’t long before the small shed filled with the fumes from the exhaust pipe and he was forced to shut it off.

“Go inside and wash up,” Taiyang instructed once the engine was cut. With a curt nod, Mercury dismounted and started for the door. “Oh, and… about what you said…”

Mercury stopped dead in his tracks before looking back at Taiyang.

“I’m aware you don’t have the cleanest record, and let’s face it, who does? But if Yang has found it in her heart to forgive you for your past transgressions—especially the ones against her specifically—it’d be foolish of me not to do the same.” He hesitated before adding, “You have my permission to date my daughter.”

Mercury’s expression eased and his mouth slanted up into a semi-smirk. “Thank you, sir,” he said before making his way out of the shed and back to the house.

Once he was gone, a large crow that had been perched in the rafters swooped down and landed on the lawnmower’s steering wheel before transforming into the red-eyed Hunter that was his true form. “Pretty audacious kid, huh?” Qrow said, leaning against the rusty hood of the engine with folded arms.

Taiyang chuckled. “He’s definitely full of surprises.”

“You still wanna try and scare him off? I could offer to spar with him.”

Taiyang picked up the tin pail with the excess fuel. “I don’t think that will be necessary,” he said. He walked over to his workbench and found a disposable container to dump the old oil into. “I think maybe it might be time to add a little color into my life. No more dabbling in black and white.”

Qrow shrugged his shoulders. “Too many colors tend to make things messy and hard to look at,” he said offhandedly.

“But the ones that compliment each other are so stunning,” Taiyang countered.

“Cut the fucking rainbow analogy and tell me what you’re thinking.”

Taiyang laughed. “You heard what I told him. He has my permission.”

“Because of one hot-headed outburst?”

“No,” Taiyang said evenly. “Because of one enamored daughter.”

Qrow scoffed. “You were going to give him your blessing no matter what.”

“Not as quickly as I did,” Taiyang admitted. “Like I said, he’s full of surprises.”


	7. Rub-A-Dub-Dub

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **WARNING**
> 
> There is a fairly graphic sex scene in this chapter. If that's not your cup of tea and you're still digging this fic, continue on to the next chapter <3 If you think you can handle it, read away ;)

“Damn it!” Yang cursed as the plate she was washing slipped out of her hand and crashed to the floor. Having a window in front of the kitchen sink meant having a great view of a the backyard, and having a great view of the backyard meant having a great view of a shirtless Mercury, and having a great view of a shirtless Mercury meant three less pieces of dishware would be making their way back to the cupboard—may they rest in pieces.

“Give me that!” Ruby demanded, yanking the sponge from her sister’s metal grip. “If you drop anymore dishes, one of us is going to be eating dinner out of Zwei’s bowl!”

Zwei’s ears perked up upon hearing his name, his tail wagging and his tongue hanging out of the side of his mouth as he happily looked at his owners.

“I’m sorry. I don’t know what’s gotten into me today.” Yang knew what hadn’t gotten into her that day, and he was currently parading around her home doing rugged and manly things without his shirt on. Fucking tease.

“Well, the turkey won’t be ready for another hour or so. Why don’t you go take a nap?” Ruby suggested. “That might help take some of the edge off. You’ve been stressed out since you woke up this morning.”

“You should’ve seen me when Mercury first got here…”

“Oh, I did,” Ruby said, just as chipper as ever. “I had a front row mezzanine seat from upstairs. That was some high quality entertainment.”

Yang twisted her mouth into what she hoped was a disapproving look. “I thought I smelled popcorn burning earlier,” she joked, playfully attempting to pinch her nosey sister.

“Hey, hey! I didn’t have time for popcorn!” Ruby cried, evading Yang’s pinches. “It was still grade A entertainment, though!”

After a tickle fight that wound up frazzling her even further, Yang trudged upstairs to her room and fell asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow. She didn’t realize how tired she actually was, but was glad Ruby had.

It felt like she had just closed her eyes when she was awoken by the sound of running water coursing through the walls, but one look at the clock told her she’d been dead to the world for a solid forty-five minutes. Yang lazily reached her arms over her head, lengthening her body and stretching all the way to the tips of her toes. She thought about rolling over and dosing off again until a second thought occurred to her.

The upstairs water was running. That meant someone was using the shower. She and Ruby were the only two people who used the upstairs shower, and Ruby looked as fresh as a spring daisy when Yang last saw her. Unless some horrible cooking accident had forced her dear sister to clean herself up, there was only one logical conclusion: Mercury was alone. In her shower. Naked.

Yang shot out of bed as if the mattress had electrocuted her. Without any rational thought, she strode out into the hallway, up to the bathroom door, and gave it three soft raps.

“Be out in a minute,” Mercury called.

A mischievous smile playing across her lips, Yang placed her mechanical hand on the knob and opened the door.

The shower steam immediately surrounded her, along with the sweet scent of roses and honey. Mercury was quiet, so she guessed he hadn’t heard her come in. Trying to maintain the element of surprise, Yang cautiously closed the door behind her and slowly bent down to untie her shoes. She had successfully removed one high heel sneaker when the sound of Mercury’s voice froze her where she stood.

_“Welcome to the bloodbath, jump into the tub. Fist-fight, death-match. Come and join the club. Kick-start your face with a metal-clad boot. You should give up now, your retaliation’s moot…”_

Yang closed her eyes, pressed her lips together, and tried her damnedest not to laugh. A few restrained squeaks escaped her, but they weren’t loud enough to be heard over the running water, much less Mercury’s beautiful singing voice.

With her limited laughter providing a new challenge in her attempt to remain unnoticed, Yang continued undressing. Finally free of all her clothes, she yanked back the shower curtain just in time for the end of the last chorus.

“Holy shit!” Mercury shouted, jumping and smacking his back against the white tiled wall behind him.

“Shhh!” Yang cupped her hand over Mercury’s mouth. “You want them to hear you?”

The look in Mercury’s eyes quickly changed from startled to stimulated. He reached his hand up to Yang’s, latching onto her wrist and turning it so that the tips of her fingers were directly on his lips, allowing him to plant a gossamer kiss.

Yang bit her bottom lip, her breath caught in her throat. She reached the hand he kissed behind his neck and pulled him closer, stepping over the side of the garden tub to meet him halfway before drawing the curtain closed behind her. She gave him short, sweet kisses at first, as if to say, this one is for being so well-behaved, and this one is for holding back your quips, and this one is for hanging out with my dad all day, and this one is for actually trying. There were so many things she was grateful to him for, and this was the easiest way to convey those feelings—for the two of them at least.

Although Mercury was more than willing to start things slow, his kisses soon grew in intensity. His strong arms wrapped around her, pressing their warm, wet bodies together. He was so close Yang could feel his heart beating through his chest, its pace as erratic as her own.

He broke away to forcefully pin her to the back of the shower, his back completely blocking Yang from the water flow. With his forearms pressed against the tiles on either side of her face, Mercury lowered his lips to her neck and began kissing his way down to her clavicle. She could smell the scent of her honey and chamomile shampoo in his hair, its fragrance just as dizzying as his touch.

Without warning, Yang reached down and latched onto his erect cock with her human hand, causing him to sink his teeth into the skin of her shoulder to suppress his moan. He rested his forehead in the crook of her neck as she gently ran her fingers up and down the length of him. She smiled at the breathy sounds he made with every stroke. The longer she persisted, the shallower his breathing became.

When she finally removed her hand to bring it up around his head and capture him in another passionate kiss, Mercury decided it was time to take control. Stabilizing his mechanical feet, he lifted her thighs up around him and pressed her firmly against the smooth tiled wall. Yang latched her legs around his waist instinctually, the streaming water serving to make things more slippery than usual. She couldn’t help but giggle when she noticed how taut his ass felt against her slick calves.

“Someone’s been working out,” Yang whispered in his ear, wrapping her arms around his neck to help steady herself. Mercury responded by abruptly pushing inside of her.

Yang let out a soft cry, her fingernails digging deep into his nape as she hugged him closer. He quickly built up his rhythm and Yang just as quickly matched it, rolling her hips with his in motions as fluid as the water dripping down their bodies. Her parted lips hovered over his, panting into his mouth without coming quite close enough to kiss.

“You feel so good,” she gasped, clawing onto him like her life depended on it. Her words only encouraged his speed and power, but this sudden burst of energy was short-lived. Either because his arms were tired or because he wanted to switch things up, Mercury knelt down and laid Yang on her back against the bottom of the oval tub. Repositioning himself on top of her, he thrust back inside, but this time his thumb was against her clit.

Yang sighed in ecstasy at the feel of him—all of him. No matter how many men she had, she never wanted any of them as much as she wanted Mercury. Looking up at him now with his mouth slightly parted and his hazy gray eyes gazing right back at her—the stream of water splashing against his back and misting around his broad shoulders—Yang felt such an amazing range of emotions. She felt happy, she felt safe, but most of all she felt… warm. Not from the shower water or even their body heat. It was an internal kind of warmth, like the fire of her heart. The only other time she felt anything remotely similar was when she tapped into her semblance during a fight, and even that sensation didn’t exactly stack up. Whatever it was, it was intoxicating and she couldn’t get enough.

“More,” she mumbled. She thought her plea might’ve been incoherent, but Mercury complied and began thrusting harder and rubbing faster, expletives escaping him every so often under his breath. Seconds later, Yang reached up and caught Mercury behind his head, pulling him down and catching his mouth with hers in one last kiss that served as a thank you as well as a means to quiet the cry of her climax. Mercury followed suit right behind her, allowing the kiss to linger and using it the same way she had as he came.

Bleary-eyed and spent, he collapsed down on top of her, his head resting just beneath her chin. They both struggled to catch their breath as the warm water raining down on them slightly started to cool. Yang wrapped her mechanical arm around him and stroked his wet, silver hair with her human hand, bringing her lips down to his forehead. She remembered back to the very first time Mercury had kissed her in the exact same way and smiled. That was one of the pivotal moments in the early stages of their relationship when they should’ve known there was something more between them. _Better late than never,_ she thought.

“I missed you,” Mercury said, his head still resting against her chest, eyes closed.

“You always do,” Yang teased, but his words prompted her to hold him tighter.

Because lying in the tub like that wasn’t exactly comfortable, they soon got to their feet and began washing themselves with some of Ruby’s rose-scented soap. They playfully scrubbed one another, repeatedly smearing each other’s face with suds; and when the water turned ice cold, they battled to push the other directly under the showerhead to endure the full blast of the freezing spray.

“Do you think we made too much noise?” Yang asked, her voice hushed as she dabbed her long blond hair with a towel.

“You know the acoustics of your house better than I do,” Mercury said, not even bothering to lower his tone as he, too, dried off.

“Mercury! The water’s not running anymore! Tone it down!” Yang snapped in a sharp whisper.

Mercury gave a small snort of laughter. “I guess that means the acoustics must suck. Anyway, you started this. I was just minding my own business when—”

“Don’t even pretend like you didn’t like it.”

Mercury didn’t deny it. He merely wrapped his towel around his waist and said, “Only you would turn something so clean into something so dirty.”

It was Yang’s turn to snort with laughter. “As much as I’d love to take credit for the invention of shower sex, I’m pretty sure someone already beat me to the punch.” She picked her clothes up off the floor and began to redress.

“Um, Blondie… you don’t happen to have any clothes I can wear, do you?”

Yang gave him a quizzical look. “You didn’t bring any clothes with you?” she asked.

“Just the ones I was wearing, and they’re a little too dirty to wear to dinner,” he admitted.

Yang rolled her eyes. “Why would you come for a visit and not bring any extra clothes?!”

“Because I didn’t think I’d be worked like a slave the first five hours I got here!” Mercury fired back.

Yang sighed. That was fair. “Wait here,” she told him once she was dressed and ready to face whoever was waiting outside the bathroom door—which was thankfully no one. With that crisis averted, Yang stealthily tiptoed down the stairs to her uncle Qrow’s room and returned to Mercury with some of his clothes.

“It’s better than nothing,” she said after gauging Mercury’s less than amused reaction to the garments.

“If that’s true then why am I considering going to dinner with this fluffy, strawberry-print towel wrapped around my waist?”

Yang raised her eyebrows. “I mean, I wouldn’t mind.” That wasn’t entirely true, but she knew Mercury wasn’t as brazen as he pretended to be… most of the time. “Look, it’s your own fault for not being prepared. I’ll take you shopping in town tomorrow if you just make do with uncle Qrow’s stuff tonight. Please? For me?”

Mercury held Yang’s gaze before sighing in defeat and taking the clothes from her outstretched arms. “I guess it’s better than one of Ruby’s skirts,” he said.

Yang smiled. She left him to get changed and headed downstairs to help Ruby set the dinner table.

“You took a shower?” Ruby asked the moment she noticed Yang’s wet hair. “Why?”

Yang’s mind went blank as she tried to think of the best explanation that would result in the least amount of suspicion. “I was feeling really stressed, like you said, and decided to try some aroma therapy.”

“Did it work?” Ruby asked, setting a bowl of mashed potatoes on the table.

“I think so,” Yang said, a hot, steamy memory of her therapy session flashing through her mind. “I’m feeling much better,” she concluded.

“That’s a relief, because something tells me it’s gonna be a crazy night.”

Yang furrowed her eyebrows at her sister as she placed serving spoons in all of the side dishes. “What makes you say that?” she asked. “Besides the obvious, of course.”

Ruby nodded toward a big metal pot simmering on the stovetop. “Uncle Qrow made his famous hard cider.”

Yang’s eyes widened as her mouth dropped. “No way! He only makes that around the holidays!”

“And special occasions,” Ruby amended. “You brought a guy home for the first time in the history of Remnant! That’s as special as any occasion I can think of.”

Too distracted by the cider to consider Ruby’s trivial teasing, Yang excitedly glided over to the pot and lifted the lid to breathe in the crisp smell. “Do you think uncle Qrow would get mad if we got started without him?”

Ruby picked up a mug she had resting on the kitchen counter and toasted Yang. “Way ahead of you, sis,” she said before taking a sip.

Yang happily retrieved her own mug from the cabinet and poured in two full ladles of cider, filling it to the brim. “I should bring boyfriends over more often,” she said with a laugh.

Maybe with a little alcohol in them, Mercury, Qrow, and her father would get along marginally better. It couldn’t hurt, could it? Suddenly, Yang had a vision of Mercury, Qrow, and her father beating the living daylights out of each other in a drunken rage, tearing through the house and destroying everything they came into contact with.

Yang took her first gulp of cider, making sure it was a big one. Even if the boys didn’t have a good night, that wasn’t going to stop Yang from enjoying hers.


	8. Never Have I Ever

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was inspired by the drinking game in anawitch's Confidential! (I think hers ends much funnier!)

Qrow’s piercing red eyes repeatedly looked Mercury up and down from head to toe, trying his best to comprehend what he was seeing.

“You know, I was a little put off by the cape at first, but I can see why you like it,” Mercury told him, grabbing the ends of the cloak strapped to his shoulders and waving it like a regular matador. Wearing Qrow’s outfit was one thing, but Mercury had even gone so far as to lower his voice and style his hair the same way. Ultimately he’d decided if he was going to look like Qrow he was going to at least have a little fun with it.

Qrow took an aggressive step forward, but was halted by his niece’s pacifying hand.

“Since Mercury’s clothes got dirty from all of the work he did today, I let him borrow some of yours,” Yang explained, handing Qrow a full mug of his homemade cider. “I’m sure he’ll take good care of them until he cleans and returns them.”

He watched as Mercury proceeded to do magic tricks with his cape. After the third failed attempt to make a giggling Ruby disappear, Qrow rolled his eyes and accepted the cider. 

“It’s a bit strong. Needs more cinnamon,” he said.

“I like it strong,” Yang told him, clinking her mug with his. She shared a sip and a smile with her uncle before crossing over to Mercury the Magnificent and volunteering to be the lovely assistant for his next trick.

“Who’s hungry?” Taiyang called out when he walked into the kitchen. He did a double take upon eyeing Mercury and burst into laughter. “Bahahahahaha! Nice duds, Mercury! You look ready to drink me under the table.”

Mercury cocked an intrigued eyebrow. “Is that a challenge?” he asked, still mimicking Qrow’s voice. He wasn’t sure why he always jumped at the opportunity for a drinking contest. He hardly touched the stuff unless he was drinking socially. But any chance to be the best was a good enough excuse for him.

“Food first, drinking games later,” Yang said decisively, gesturing to the dinner table. Mercury wouldn’t argue with her there. One look at the massive spread had his stomach grumbling in anticipation. There was buttery mashed potatoes, wine-red cranberry sauce, made from scratch macaroni and cheese, a pizza casserole, a caramelized vegetable medley, a basket of freshly baked bread, and a perfectly roasted turkey carved and ready in the center of the glorious looking feast.

“You heard the lady. Let’s eat,” Taiyang said, taking his seat at the head of the table.

Mercury was pleased to discover everything tasted five times better than it looked. The meat was juicy and tender, the mac and cheese was just the right consistency, and the pizza casserole must’ve been made by Yang because it was sprinkled with chunks of pineapple and pepperoni. Growing up as the son of an abusive murderer, Mercury had missed out on family meals like this. Somewhere near their second round of food and their third round of cider, he stopped and looked about the table at all of the smiling faces and realized how unashamedly happy he was. His eyes lingered when they met Yang’s. Part of him wanted to kiss her right then and there, but a more logical part reminded him of the audience they had. He settled for sliding his fingers under the table and taking her hand in his. Although Yang didn’t say anything, Mercury could tell she was just as happy as he was.

“Okay! Drinking game time!” Ruby announced once the last bit of leftovers had been placed in the refrigerator. Everyone assembled at the cleared table.

“What should we play?” Yang asked as she scooted her seat underneath her.

“How about Never Have I Ever?” Ruby suggested. That was a dangerous game to play with family members, but since no one else had a better option, Never Have I Ever it was. “I’ll go first!” the game master declared before pondering what she wanted to admit she’d never done. “Never have I ever had sex,” she decided on. All four of the other players lifted their mugs to drink.

“Something tells me you’re going to win this game,” Mercury told her before taking his sip.

“My turn,” Qrow said, placing his mug down on the table with a loud clunk. “Never have I ever sneezed so hard that a booger the size of my eyeball came rocketing out.” He looked pointedly at Ruby.

“You said you’d never tell anyone about that!” Ruby argued, her voice high and her cheeks pink.

“I’m not anyone, though, so you’re good,” Mercury said. “Drink.”

Ruby sighed and took a gulp of cider. Maybe playing this game with family was a fun idea after all.

Picking up on the clockwise turn order, Mercury went next. “Never have I ever been a certified Hunter or Huntress.”

Yang, Taiyang, Ruby, and Qrow all simultaneously took their drinks. Ruby even gave him a thumbs up as she drank. “Good one!” she said.

“Oh, just you wait,” Yang warned, her tone wickedly evil. “Never have I ever cried while watching The Note Novel.”

Mercury looked at Yang in a way that he hoped appropriately conveyed the message: _why would you reveal something so embarrassing to your entire family?!_ Then he noticed Ruby, Taiyang, and even Qrow all picking up their mugs.

“You’re downright heartless, Yang,” Qrow said. Mercury chuckled to himself and took his drink as well.

“Never have I ever flirted my way out of a speeding ticket,” Taiyang said.

Yang lifted her mug, “You’re just jealous,” she scoffed. When she saw Ruby and Mercury had their mugs lifted, too, the three clinked their cups together and took their respective sips.

The game went on for much longer than anyone could have anticipated. When they ran out of cider, they resorted to Taiyang’s stash of beer in the fridge and Qrow’s whisky in the cabinet. Part of what made the game last so long was how often they erupted into fits of laughter, and the drunker they got the longer they laughed.

“Never have I ever peed standing up!” Ruby shouted so loud Mercury thought they might’ve heard her back in Vale. Nevertheless, he, Taiyang, and Qrow all took their drinks.

“Never have I have ever been born with two X chromosomes,” Qrow fired back.

Ruby shushed him, putting her finger to his lips. “Shhh! Uncle Qrow… Don’ make things complicated,” she said, her words slurred. “It’s too late to be gettin’ all scientific on us.”

“It means drink if you were born a girl, sis,” Yang clarified. Although she was holding her alcohol much better than her sister, Yang’s eyes were much glassier than usual.

“Never have I ever walked out of the house without pants on,” Mercury said.

Yang shot him a death glare. “And you just let me do it.”

“Honestly, I didn’t think you needed them,” he admitted with a coy smile.

“You never do…” Yang muttered as she grabbed the neck of her beer bottle and took her sip.

Taiyang cleared his throat like he had anytime Yang and Mercury were getting a little too personal. The guttural sound sobered Yang just enough to promptly change the subject and take her turn.

“Never have I ever set myself on fire while trying to impress a girl!” she shouted the moment her bottle left her lips, pointing an accusatory finger at Mercury.

Taiyang and Qrow chuckled to themselves while Ruby threw her head back in a hearty laugh. “Really? When? How?” she asked between cackles.

Mercury pursed his lips while considering. “Was it… three years ago now?”

Yang held up a peace sign. “It was two,” she corrected. “Remember? Back when you and Emerald had that job for the rich guy in Vacuo.”

Mercury pinched the bridge of his nose and scrunched his eyes shut as he struggled to recall the memory. “The tavern girl, right? Long brown braid?”

Yang shook her head. “Pigtails,” she said.

Mercury nodded and clapped his hands together, opening his eyes wide. “Daisy!” he proclaimed.

“That’s right! Her name was Daisy!” Yang confirmed, just as enthusiastic. “You all should’ve seen him. We made a bet to see who could pick up a chick faster, right? This guy tries to be all cool by showing off with some lighter tricks, and he accidentally sets his hand on fire! Like a full-on fist of flames! It might’ve actually still looked cool if he hadn’t been screaming like a little girl. The best part was by the time he’d put the fire out, Daisy splashed an entire pitcher of water on him! And she got more of his face than his hand!”

Ruby burst out into more laughter. Even Mercury couldn’t contain a snicker. “She wasn’t my type anyway,” he said offhandedly as he drank his whiskey.

“Yeah. You were way too _hot_ for her,” Taiyang said, causing everyone with the exception of Mercury to explode into even more hysterics.

“But… but,” Yang stuttered in between peals of laughter, “at least she knew how to get you _wet!”_

Mercury rolled his eyes when everyone’s drunken guffaws grew louder. Ruby and Yang clutched the edge of the table just to keep themselves from falling out of their seats. Taiyang and Qrow were nowhere near as animated as the girls, but they were laughing just as much.

Mercury propped one elbow on the table and let his cheek rest in his open palm while delicately drumming his fingers against the smooth mahogany wood with his opposite hand. “Finished?” he asked once everyone had settled down.

“I think so,” Ruby said, wiping the tears from her eyes. “Man, oh man. I wish I had someone to share memories like that with.”

“It can be fun,” Yang confessed, glancing at Mercury. He didn’t want to, but he found himself smiling. Only Yang could poke fun at him like that and get away with it.

“My turn,” Taiyang announced, snapping everyone’s attention back to the game. “Since we’re reminiscing about embarrassing moments, never have I ever worn a skirt to school!”

Ruby and Yang obviously moved to take their drinks, but everyone erupted into another bout of laughter when Qrow joined them.

“You’ll just never let me live that one down, will you?” he scoffed, swirling the whisky left in his glass. “Your turn, Rubes, and make it a good one.”

“Hmm…” Ruby pressed her lips together and circled the rim of her bottle with her finger as she contemplated. “Never have I ever had sex…”

“You already said that one,” Yang deadpanned.

“In a Beacon supply closet!” Ruby added.

Mercury saw Yang’s eyes go wide and her face go flush. He silently wondered if she was going to sit this round out, but that wasn’t how the game was played. With a little more flair than usual, Mercury raised his glass and toasted Ruby. “Cheers,” he said before taking a big drink. He gave Yang a sidelong glance while he gulped.

That supply closet was a big deal for them—it was the start of it all. He could understand why she’d avoid admitting something so scandalous in front of her father, but deep down there was a part of him that really wanted her to own up to it. That’s probably why he felt the slightest tinge of pride when Yang picked up her beer and drank right alongside him, almost as if to say: _damn right I had sex in a Beacon supply closet, and it was one of the best decisions of my life._

Then something even more amazing happened; Taiyang took a drink, too. All eyes silently looked on as the veteran Hunter guzzled his beer.

“What?” Taiyang asked defensively, a satisfied belch escaping him once he placed his bottle back on the table. “It was hard for Raven and me to get any privacy.”

Qrow held up his hand in a halting gesture. “I don’t want to know. I really don’t want to know.”

Ruby hid her hands in her face as she unsuccessfully tried to subdue more laughter. “This is so much fun,” she said with a cheesy grin. “Never have I ever wanted to stop playing Never Have I Ever!” It hadn’t been her turn, but Taiyang, Qrow, Mercury, and Yang all grabbed their drinks and simultaneously drank in perfect, plastered synchronization. Ruby slouched in defeat. “Okay, fine. You guys win. We’ll stop.”

With the game finished and everyone retreating to their rooms for the night, Taiyang asked if Mercury could talk with him a moment.

“It won’t take long,” Taiyang assured his daughter when he noticed Yang’s concerned expression. Yang nodded and with one last lingering look at Mercury, she left the kitchen. “Let’s take a walk,” Taiyang said.

He led Mercury outside down a moonlit path that wound its way into the nearby woods. The stars shined so much brighter in Patch than they did in the cities. Mercury got caught up gazing at them and forgot he and Taiyang were supposed to be talking.

“First of all, I wanted to apologize,” Taiyang said, his hands held behind his back as he walked. “Not only was I disrespectful, but I misjudged you.”

Mercury bit back a laugh. “Happens more than you’d think,” he said. “But I appreciate and accept your apology.”

“I’m not finished,” Taiyang said, the reprimanding tone of a father ever present in his voice—even his inebriated voice. He placed his hand on Mercury’s shoulder. “I also just wanted to let you know how happy I am that I was wrong about you. You’re the first boyfriend Yang has ever brought home—and quite frankly I hope you’re the last.”

Mercury wasn’t sure if it was the alcohol talking or if Taiyang sincerely meant that. Either way, he was… what was that word? Honored? Tickled? Something like that.

“I thought you were just full of it earlier when you talked about how Yang looks at you differently, but she does. She really does. I saw it happen tonight. She’s not alone, though. You look at her the exact same way. Just watching the two of you interact, anyone could see how perfectly you two sync with each other. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t a little jealous. I have to share my baby girl’s heart with another man… but if that man is you… well, then that’s all right.”

Mercury could definitely sense some liquid courage seeping into his words now—he could smell it, too. But even if Taiyang woke up the next morning with no memory of this conversation whatsoever, Mercury was glad to have had it. He’d remember it for the both of them. Or at least he’d try to anyway. Judging from how hard it was to keep walking in a straight line, Mercury was just as drunk.

“Sir, thank you, sir,” was all he thought to say. Suddenly, a rustling noise alerted them to something fast approaching from behind. Mercury whipped around just in time to land a kick across Qrow’s face, sending him spiraling into a nearby tree trunk.

“Qrow! What the hell?!” Taiyang exclaimed. “I’m trying to have a father-son talk!”

Mercury’s heart dropped. Proposing to Yang was one of the furthest things from his mind, but the thought of Taiyang already welcoming him into the family—the thought of having a father figure who actually valued him and wanted father-son talks—triggered something inside of him. He was glad it was dark and Taiyang was too distracted with Qrow to notice the welling tears he quickly blinked away.

“I still say he can’t officially date Yang until he can officially hold his own against me in a fight,” Qrow snarled as he clambered to his feet. “C’mon, boy! You and me! Right here, right now!”

“Qrow, you’re drunk.”

“Shaddap, Xiao Long. This is between me and my doppelganger,” Qrow said as he steadied his wobbly stance. “Let’s go, Quicksilver. Mano a mano. If I win, you have to take off my clothes.”

“I thought this was about dating Yang, not you,” Mercury joked. He threw his cape out to the side, a passing breeze helping to make the motion look all the more dashing as he squared off. “Just remember you asked for it,” he said.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

By the time they got back to the giant log cabin, Mercury was in need of another of Qrow’s outfits; but then so was Qrow. Tattered and dirty, the pair hung onto each other singing a drinking song Qrow had taught him in the time it took to get from the woods to the house.

“You can’t be serious,” Yang said when she opened the back door and took in the spectacle. “You guys didn’t double-team him, did you?” she asked in disbelief, looking to her father.

Taiyang held his hands up defensively in front of him. “I was just a referee!” he said. “I should’ve known you wouldn’t settle for a pushover, honey, but I had no idea what a badass this guy was!”

Yang’s unease faintly faded. “He has his moments,” she admitted. Her eyes then fell on the bloody holes ripped across Mercury’s abdomen. “Come on, tough guy. Let’s get you cleaned up.” She removed Mercury’s arm from Qrow’s shoulder, pulled it around her neck, and guided him inside.

“Where’s _my_ first aid treatment?” Qrow called after her.

“It’s in the same place you promised me you wouldn’t fight my boyfriend!” she bellowed back.

She acted as Mercury’s crutch until they reached the upstairs bathroom. Once there, she set him on the side of the tub and turned the water faucet on. When she started unbuttoning his shirt, Mercury caught her wrists with his hands.

“Time for round two?” he asked as seductively as his drunken state would allow.

Yang bat his hands away and pushed him into the cold bathwater. “Time for you to sober up,” she said.

After laying out a pair of her father’s shorts for him to change into, Yang left Mercury to bathe alone. Once he emerged from the bathroom, she invited him to sit next to her on her bed and began dressing his wounds.

“This looks bad…” Yang said as she smoothed ointment over a particularly deep cut on his ribs. “Why did you fight him?”

Mercury twisted his body so she’d have better access to the gash, resting both hands on the bed. “You saw how much more he likes me now,” he replied. “Besides… it was kind of fun.”

“Well, don’t have too much fun that you get yourself killed,” she said, slapping the bandage on a little harder than she had to.

“Ouch! Ah… ma’am, yes, ma’am!”

After applying gobs of ointment and layers of gauze, Yang snapped the lid on her first aid kit shut. “I think that about does it,” she said, scanning the rest of his body for any marks she might’ve missed. “Just make sure you get plenty of rest and come in for a checkup in one week so I can see how you’re progressing.”

“Thanks, doc,” Mercury said with a laugh. He stood to leave, but he just as quickly felt Yang’s fingers tugging on the back belt loop of his shorts. “What?” he asked, turning his head to face her.

“You don’t want to stay with me?” she asked, her round, lilac eyes staring up at him. The way she sat on the bed with her loose-fitting nightshirt hanging off her shoulder, her wavy hair cascading around her face, and her silky shorts bunched high around her thighs sent Mercury’s mind into overdrive. The best part was she had no idea how incredibly tempting she looked.

Mercury removed her fingers from his belt loop and held her hand. “You know the answer to that,” he told her, “but your father asked me to sleep on the couch tonight. I’d rather not lose his trust right after I finally managed to get it. To be honest, I’d rather not lose his trust at all.”

Yang shook her head. “Damn it, Mercury. Since when did you start being so noble?” Mercury felt her fingers go slack only to tense up and hold his hand even tighter. “But, you drank tonight…” she said.

“So? You did, too.”

“I know, I know, but,” her eyes darted around like they were searching for the right words somewhere on her bedspread. “But…”

 _Oh,_ Mercury thought. She still didn’t think he knew that she knew about his alcohol-induced night terrors.

Mercury couldn’t believe how adorable she looked frantically trying to think of an excuse to be there for him when the nightmares set in that didn’t make her sound like a total softy. He knelt down on the bed, brought Yang’s face to his, and kissed her. He could tell from the way she tangled her fingers in his hair that she wasn’t going to let him go without a fight.

Reluctantly, Mercury broke the kiss and pressed their foreheads together. “You know, your dad may have asked me to sleep on the couch, but he didn’t say anything about where you had to sleep.”

A mischievous grin spread across Yang’s face and she kissed him again. Without breaking away, Mercury scooped Yang up into his arms and carried her downstairs.


	9. Pancakes, and Car Rides, and Fights.  Oh My!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Looks like I'm gonna have to add the tag "drama" to this story ("^^)> But it's good drama! Like the kind you don't wanna admit you like, but you REALLY like it ;)

_“Eh-heh-hem!”_

Yang could hear Mercury groan and feel him stir from underneath her, but was too tired to open her eyes. “Blondie, I’m starting to hear your dad clear his throat in my dreams,” he said, his voice dry and drowsy.

_“Eh-heh-HEM!!”_

“It’s getting worse. Make it stop.”

“It’s your dream. _You_ make it stop,” Yang mumbled against his chest. That was when she realized if it really were Mercury’s dream she wouldn’t be able to hear the cough, too. She sat bolt upright—eyes wide and very much awake—to find her father standing in what was becoming his signature pose: arms crossed, eyes focused, expression daunting.

“Good morning, my sunny little dragon,” Taiyang said with a strained smile, his voice just dripping with sarcasm.

“’Mornin’, Dad,” Yang sheepishly replied. She looked down at Mercury who was lying shirtless and motionless with his arms crossed over his face. Either he still thought he was dreaming, or he was pretending to be asleep until it all went away. Yang decided he needed to come to grips with reality either way and efficiently punched him in his gut.

“Hngh!” Mercury retched, lurching to life. “What he hell, Blondie?” he wheezed, reaching for his stomach. His head was resting on the arm of the sofa, so when he finally opened his eyes and looked up, he got an upside-down view of a Xiao Long he wasn’t expecting to see. “Sir! Uh, hey,” he ineloquently uttered, his voice still husky from sleep and Yang’s punch. “What brings you here this fine morning?”

“It’s my house. I go wherever the hell I want,” Taiyang said flatly.

“Dad, I know what you’re thinking, but you’re wrong. This isn’t what it looks like,” Yang said as she gingerly climbed off her half naked boyfriend. For once, it honestly wasn’t. Although she and Mercury had every intention of getting more intimate, they fell asleep before they could make it past second base. The events of the previous day had been far too draining for both of them. The alcoholic nightcap hadn’t helped much either, at least in terms of keeping them awake. “And even if it was what it looks like, you can’t be mad at Mercury. He slept on the couch just like you asked him to.”

Taiyang relaxed his posture and switched to a less intimidating expression. “I’m too hung-over to get into this right now, and I know you’ll find loopholes no matter what I say. But I do ask you to use a little more discretion. If not for me, for Ruby’s sake.”

“Dad, Ruby is twenty-one years old. She’s a late bloomer, but she knows about the birds and the bees.”

“This is not up for negotiation, Yang. Keep it PG or keep it out of this house,” Taiyang said, his tone strict.

“Sir, yes, sir,” Mercury answered for her. Yang gave him a skeptical look. The only way he’d keep it PG was if the P stood for penetrating and the G stood for genitalia. Still, appeasing her father was the best move to make in this situation, so Yang refrained from calling his bluff.

Now that her mind wasn’t racing to think up excuses and her senses had settled, Yang detected the tantalizing smells of frying butter and baking batter wafting through the air. The moment she placed the familiar fragrance, Yang felt her heart leap almost as high as her stomach. “Are you making pancakes?” she asked.

A small smiled crept its way across Taiyang’s lips. “You guessed it. What flavor would you like? The Berry-Amazingly-Awesome-Specialty Special?”

Yang blushed. The Berry-Amazingly-Awesome-Specialty Special sounded so childish, even though that’s exactly what she wanted. Just hearing the nostalgic dish’s name made her feel like she was five years old, and that was not the light she wanted Mercury to see her in. “Dad, just call it blueberry crumble pancakes,” she said.

Taiyang furrowed his eyebrows. “Why would I do that? That doesn’t sound near as cool.” Yang let out a huff of laughter. Her father needed to update his definition of cool, stat. “What about you, Mercury. What kind of pancakes do you like?” Taiyang asked.

Mercury pulled himself to a sitting position on the couch. “The special sounds good. I’ll have the same,” he said. Something told Yang that Mercury got a kick out of seeing such a cutesy side of her life. Her suspicions were confirmed when he added, “I’m beh-wee hung-wee wight now, so wet’s go eat.”

A few bites into breakfast, Yang noticed Qrow’s absence. “Where’s uncle Qrow?” she asked, dousing her plate-sized pancakes with an extra coating of rich, white icing.

“He flew into town already. Said he had work to do,” Ruby answered, her mouth full of half-chewed blueberries.

“Work in Patch? That’s strange,” Yang said as she sliced into her massive pancake pile. “There’s not much going on in our neck of the woods.”

“Nope, not Patch. He had to go all the way to Vale. That’s why he didn’t have time to eat with us,” Ruby explained.

“That’s too bad. He’s missing out on some serious deliciousness,” Yang said, eyeing the fluffy bite on her fork before gobbling it up. She looked to Mercury who was already halfway through his seven-layer stack.

“Mmm-hmm,” he agreed, his mouth full and his cheeks bearing a striking resemblance to a chipmunk’s. “Haven’t had a bad meal here yet,” he added once he finally managed to swallow. He washed his food down with some milk and glanced back at Yang. “So what’s on the agenda for today?” he asked. Mercury was avoiding her father’s eyes when he spoke, probably so he could also avoid more chores and yard work.

“First thing we need to do is get you some clothes,” Yang said. “I still can’t believe you didn’t bring any extra.”

“It all worked out” Mercury replied with a playful grin, tugging at the collar of the shirt Taiyang let him borrow in addition to his shorts.

“I put his dirty ones in the washing machine, so they should be ready to dry by the time we’re finished eating,” Ruby chimed in. “Technically he doesn’t NEED more clothes once his are clean, but it still might be fun to show him the more populated parts of Patch.”

Yang nodded in agreement. “I’ve been wanting to revamp your wardrobe anyway.”

Mercury raised an eyebrow in Yang’s direction. “What’s wrong with my wardrobe?” he asked.

Yang filled her mouth with pancakes to keep it occupied. Unfortunately, Mercury was as patient as he was persistent and allowed Yang to finish chewing before he asked again.

“What’s wrong with the way I dress?”

“Nothing,” Yang answered. “It’s just, with the exception of a few variations of black shirts, you haven’t really updated your closet in the past six years.”

Mercury shrugged his shoulders and resumed eating. “If it’s not broken, don’t fix it,” he said. He paused to point his fork threateningly at Yang. “You better not pick out anything pink.”

“Only real men can pull off pink anyway,” Taiyang teased.

“I’m pretty sure I’ve pulled off Blondie’s pink underwear…” Mercury muttered. Yang swiftly kicked Mercury underneath the table for saying something so crass in front of her family and cried out in pain the second her toe made contact with his metal shin.

“You okay there, sweetheart?” her father asked, his expression more confused than concerned. Apparently both he and Ruby had been oblivious to Mercury’s panty pun.

Yang clenched her teeth and inhaled sharply, pressing down on her throbbing toe with her opposite foot. “Uh huh. Just peachy,” she lied. Ruby and Taiyang continued to apprehensively stare at her while Mercury tried to contain his laughter and not choke on his pancake in the process.

After breakfast, Mercury traded Taiyang’s shorts for a pair of Qrow’s slacks. He didn’t feel comfortable walking around public areas with his prosthetics exposed. Yang sympathized since she, too, preferred longer sleeves and gloves when out and about. For how commonplace robots and mechanized body parts were becoming throughout Remnant, it was mind-boggling how much unwanted attention they still managed to attract.

Once dressed and ready, Taiyang, Mercury, Yang, and Ruby all piled in Taiyang’s car and headed into town. They rolled the windows down so they could feel the cool autumn air and smell the natural scents of the forest they rode through.

The old buildings, cobblestone streets, and memorial sculptures of the quaint little city were nothing new to Yang. That’s why she spent more time watching Mercury take in the sights than actually taking in the sights herself. His reactions were far more interesting to her.

“What are you thinking?” she asked as they drove by an elaborate bronze statue of a historic Hunter brandishing his broadsword while standing atop a pile of defeated Grimm.

“What makes you think I’m thinking?” Mercury countered, his chin resting in his hand, his elbow resting on the side of the open window, his eyes gazing out.

“You’re always thinking.” Part of what made Mercury such an extraordinary fighter was his ability to analyze his opponents and devise clever strategies to take them down. Although she’d never admit it to his face, the quality Yang was most often enchanted by was Mercury’s intellect, even if he did waste a good portion of it on being a smart-ass.

“I’m thinking…” a smirk slanted up the side of his face, but his eyes proceeded to focus on the world passing by outside, “about the kinds of adventures a blond little brat could’ve gotten into growing up in a place like this.”

Yang laughed lightly through her nose. “You’d be surprised. This town isn’t that big, but the trouble you can get into sure can be.” She paused for a moment before her hand slid across the back seat and found his. “So shall we?” she asked with a troublemaker smile.

Mercury turned his head and looked from their interlocked fingers to Yang’s enticing expression. “Shall we what?”

Yang raised her eyebrows just as the car came to a stoplight. “Get into some trouble,” she said. She opened her door and rushed out, yanking Mercury along right behind her. The car was still coasting to a stop by the time their feet hit the pavement.

“What are you doing?!” Ruby called out after them from the passenger seat.

“We’ll meet up with you later!” Yang yelled over her shoulder as she and Mercury continued their mad dash down the bustling sidewalk. They weaved their way through the pedestrians, jumping over shorter ones and ducking under the hands of other linked couples, not once breaking their own bond. With all the spins, flips, and smooth moves they were executing, it almost felt like they were dancing—or parkouring. Either way, it was hot.

When they finally reached a small playground with a slide disguised as the remarkably long tongue of a giant cat, they stopped to catch their breath.

“What was… that about?” Mercury asked in between pants, his hands resting on his knees.

Yang stood with all of her weight to one side, her hands on her hips. “I just… felt like… being spontaneous,” she said, equally winded.

“Well… next time you feel like… being spontaneous… a little heads up?”

Yang shook her head. “That defeats… the purpose.”

Although he remained in dire need of more oxygen, Mercury stood up straight and folded his arms in front of him. “Why do I… put up with you?” he asked.

Yang didn’t hesitate. She grabbed him by his shirt, pulled him toward her, and sent an electrifying kiss sweeping through him—leaving him even more breathless.

With raised eyebrows, Mercury gave a small pout of his lips and a slight nod of his head when she released him. “That’s why,” he agreed.

Yang smiled and took his hand again. “C’mon. There’s a clothing store nearby that I think you’ll like.”

“Does it sell anything black?” he asked as they started to walk.

“I thought you were going to branch out and try something different,” Yang said.

“I would, but my spontaneous quota has already been met for the day. Can’t do too many things out of the ordinary, otherwise I might blow a gasket. Hazard of being half a bag of bolts.”

“Shopping isn’t spontaneous. And your bolts are fine.”

“It can be if you’re buying impulsively. And you don’t know anything about my bolts.”

“It’s not impulsive if you plan to buy it ahead of time. And yes, I do.” She pointed to her bolted arm as exhibit A.

“It is impulsive when it’s not black. And no, you don’t.”

“I promise it won’t be pink.”

“Good. Now just promise it WILL be black and we’re golden.”

Yang abruptly let her hand drop from his. “Rrrgh! I know why you put up with me, but why do I put up with YOU?”

Without missing a beat, Mercury glided behind her and reached his freed hand down to her inner thigh just underneath the hem of her skirt. He lightly grazed his fingertips across her skin, sending shivers surging throughout her entire body. He lowered his lips to her ear, his warm breath falling soft upon her as he whispered, “You know why,” before planting a feathery kiss where her jawline met her neck.

Yang closed her eyes and exhaled a shaky sigh. Her mind was so mushy she couldn’t even begin to formulate a snarky comeback. Instead, she surrendered to his touch, reaching her hand back behind his nape to pull him closer. Her lips were just about to brush against his when a familiar voice drew Yang out of the moment.

“Hair that strikingly blond can only belong to Yang Xiao Long.”

Yang snapped her head to the sound of her name, spinning around to find a strapping young man with a pinstripe suit, shaggy brown hair, and copper colored eyes standing at the street corner a few footsteps behind them.

“Jack! Hi,” she said, mentally patting herself on the back for remembering his name this time. She took a reflexive step away from Mercury. “What are you doing all the way in Patch?”

“I caught wind that there was a product or two out here that might be worth my time, so I came to assess them myself,” Jack explained, his tone casual. If he was feeling as uncomfortable as she was, he was doing an excellent job of hiding it. In fact, he seemed downright pleased to see her.

“New products. That makes sense,” she said. The cargo she guarded on her last mission had been a collection of old-fashioned machinery. “Are you heading to Vivian’s Antiques?” Yang asked. Patch’s renowned vintage furniture store was the only place she could think of that might interest a merchant like him.

“Good guess there, gorgeous, but no,” Jack said with an amused smile. His eyes shifted from Yang to Mercury and his expression changed from charmed to confused. “I’m sorry. And you are…?”

“Mercury,” he said, a hint of hostility coating his tone. Hoo, boy. This wasn’t good.

Despite the aggression Yang thought she sensed, Mercury and Jack partook in a friendly enough handshake. Maybe she had just imagined it.

“Jack, was it?”

“Ah, yes. That’s correct,” he confirmed, though he suddenly seemed very intrigued by something. “Mercury, you wouldn’t happen to go by the nickname Merc, would you?”

Shit, Yang thought. She assumed introducing Mercury to her father would be the most awkward introduction of all-time, but the universe just loved proving her wrong.

Mercury cocked a puzzled eyebrow. “Sometimes,” he admitted. “But I’d prefer it if you didn’t.”

Jack offered a wry smile. “I see. So only your CLOSE friends can call you that,” he noted, his voice so bitter Yang could taste it. She looked to Mercury who seemed to be catching on.

“I don’t really have friends, so I’ll let you figure that one out,” Mercury told him.

Jack chuckled to himself. “I’m sorry. I mean no disrespect. I just find this whole thing rather… funny.”

“I’ve got a sense of humor,” Mercury said. “You wanna fill me in on the punch line?”

Another wry smile formed across Jack’s lips. “I’m sure you’d find it much funnier coming from her.” Jack gave Yang a wink. “Now if you two will excuse me, I still have some business I have to attend to.” The dapper young merchant bowed his head, pivoted on his heel, and strolled across the crosswalk to the other side of the street.

“You wanna explain Mr. Pinstripes?” Mercury asked the second Jack was out of earshot.

Yang took a deep breath. “He was a former client,” she said evenly.

“And?”

“And I saved his life and protected his freight from thieves.”

“And?”

“And apparently he’s going to need more protecting if he finds more product here. Which means more business for me, too.”

“And?”

“And he’s a great example of someone who’s revamped his wardrobe.”

“And?”

“And he takes really good care of his hair.”

“And?”

“And I really wish you’d stop asking me, ‘And?’”

“AND?!”

“AND WE FUCKED, OKAY!?!” Yang shouted so loud it caught the attention of several people walking by. Burning hot tears somehow managed to form at the corners of her eyes after the outburst, threatening to spill over if given enough incentive.

Mercury’s reaction was cold, not shocked. Just as Yang suspected, his powers of perception were as sharp as ever and had already pieced the truth together. He just wanted to hear her say it.

“Recently?” he asked.

Yang solemnly nodded. “A few days ago.”

That one shocked him. He took a step back and let out a mocking laugh, his eyes looking anywhere but at Yang. “Wow,” was all he could think to say.

“Mercury…”

She reached her mechanical hand out to catch his arm, but he easily evaded her.

“What exactly am I to you? I thought I knew, but after what just happened, I’m back to having no fucking clue.” Mercury was more enraged than Yang had ever seen him. He was normally such a laidback, unflappable guy; even his enemies had a hard time getting under his skin. The fact that Yang had managed to spark this side of him made her feel even worse than she already did. “Am I your sex toy? Am I your punching bag? Am I your goddamn project? What the hell am I to you, Yang?!” he pressed.

Yang briefly lost her words, mostly because Mercury didn’t call her anything other than Blondie. Hearing his voice speak her actual name with so much unbridled emotion caught her completely off-guard and triggered her brimming tears to stream down her face.

“What do you want me to say?” she asked. “Part of what I loved so much about us was that we never had to worry about what we were to each other. We never had labels. We just enjoyed each other and that was all that mattered. But ever since I accidentally called you my boyfriend—”

 _“Accidentally?”_ Mercury repeated with an incredulous laugh.

Yang winced when she heard the pain in his voice. “That’s not what I meant.”

“Oh, so that was an accident, too?”

“Now you’re just mocking me.”

“Whoops. Am I hurting your feelings? How could I be so insensitive?”

“If anything, you’re being _too_ sensitive. This is ridiculous. You’re getting completely butt-hurt over the fact that I had sex with someone else when you know damn well you’ve fucked just as many if not more people than I have! How many girls have _you_ been with?”

“Since you called me your boyfriend? Zero,” Mercury fired back. For some reason, that revelation stung Yang more than anything else he’d said. “We’ve been at this for over six years, Blondie. Of course I’ve had sex with other girls,” he continued, his rage starting to calm. “But I’d be lying if I said I didn’t think about you every single time.”

Yang pressed her lips together as a plump tear slid down her cheek. They’d have to add another tally mark to their list of similarities.

“Me, too,” she whispered. Gathering her composure, Yang blew her hair out of her face and sniffed back the rest of her tears. “The reason Jack asked about your name is because I screamed it while we were… you know…”

When her puffy eyes looked up to meet his piercing gaze, she saw him unsuccessfully fight the smirk etching its way across his face. His smug self couldn’t deny how happy that little detail made him feel.

“Part of why I never wanted to label you—or us for that matter—was because I didn’t want to get attached to you,” Yang explained. “I thought you were the type of guy that would run at the first sign of a commitment. Which was fine, because for a long time that’s how I was, too. Somewhere down the road, though… that changed.” A breathy giggle mixed with one of her sniffles as she added, “The reason I’m twenty-three years old and I never brought a boyfriend home isn’t because I didn’t have offers. It’s because none of them were you.

“So now we have labels. Now we’re attached. Now this is going to be a whole lot harder. But believe me when I say the way I feel about you is unlike anything I’ve ever felt with anyone else, and you know that’s saying something because you know my track record. I’m sorry I had sex with Jack, and I’m even more sorry that it hurt you as much as it did. If it makes you feel better, it was probably the worst sex I’ve ever had.” The look on his face told her it did make him feel better. “I can’t take it back,” she continued, “but I can promise to never do it again. I’ll even give you a free pass to sleep with whoever you want whenever you want. So just please… believe me when I say I’m sorry.”

Whether it was her confession, her apology, or a mixture of the two, it had been enough to wash away the last embers of Mercury’s anger and thaw his cold demeanor. He stood silent for a moment, watching as she wiped her wet face on the sleeve of her jacket before closing the distance between them and enveloping her in his arms. The sensation of his warm body and the rhythmic sound of his heartbeat soothed her. She closed her eyes, gently nuzzled his neck, and simply let him hold her for as long as he wanted.

“You can keep your free pass,” Mercury told her. “I’d rather fight with you than fuck anyone else.”

Yang laughed, causing the remainder of her tears to escape. She then tilted her head up and kissed him. “Ditto,” she whispered against his mouth.

Their make-up-make-out session was called short by a nearby explosion. Startled and still clinging to one another, Yang and Mercury looked in the direction of the blast to see black smoke rising up only a few blocks away.

“What was that?” Yang asked as panicked townspeople ran past them.

A terrified older woman noticed Yang and Mercury’s curiosity and hurriedly hobbled over to them. “Don’t go that way, dearies. There’s a girl with a giant scythe and a man with laser beam eyes tearing the town apart!”

Mercury and Yang exchanged looks. “Ruby!” Yang exclaimed.

She instantly started sprinting as fast as her legs would allow her to go in the opposite direction of the frightened civilians. Mercury was running right alongside her in no time, and together they darted off toward the source of the smoke to face whatever idiot was dumb enough to pick on her little sister.


	10. Blast from the Past

By the time Mercury and Yang arrived on the scene, three buildings had been decimated, one of which was on fire. Mercury’s eyes flashed from the flaming structure and piles of ruble to two figures locked in combat overhead. Ruby’s scythe gleamed brilliantly in the midday sunlight as she jumped from rooftop to rooftop, slashing wildly at her nimble opponent. Mercury held his hands up to shield his eyes, but the sun’s glare made it too difficult to discern whom Ruby was fighting. Judging from the silhouette, he appeared to be a man.

“What’s your plan of attack?” Mercury asked, but when he looked over to Yang he saw she was already climbing up the side of a structurally sound building using windowsills, protruding bricks, and balcony railings as her footholds. “Fight first, think later. I forgot that’s your favorite strategy,” he grumbled, rolling his eyes so hard he could feel his optic nerves detaching. Regardless, he hustled over to the same building and followed after his headstrong girlfriend.

By the time he got to the top, Yang was two roofs away from him and twice as far from Ruby. Using a few boosts from his boots, Mercury propelled himself forward, clearing the jumps more quickly and making it to Yang just in time to plunge into the fray.

With a mighty punch from her mechanical arm, Yang knocked away the assailant who could be seen plain as day now. Even with his face half covered by souped-up aviator goggles, there was no mistaking him. Decked from head to toe in pinstripes with a mop of thick brown hair flaring out from underneath the sides of his fancy eyewear, Ruby’s adversary was none other than Jack, the suave asshole Mercury had met only minutes before.

“Is that Jack?” Yang asked. “I don’t understand what’s going on. Where’s Dad?”

“He’s okay,” Ruby said, leaning on her scythe as she caught her breath. “Well, kind of,” she amended. “This creep stunned him with whatever weird light comes out of his goggles.”

“It’s only temporary paralysis. I promise it will wear off eventually. Why don’t you test it out for yourself and see how harmless it truly is?” Jack called in a tone that made Mercury want to smack him right upside his haughty head.

“Test THIS out!” Yang yelled, unleashing a barrage of bullets from her gauntlets.

Keeping his hands in his pockets, Jack easily weaved his way around every shot with movements so graceful he could’ve been gliding on ice. His unflustered face made him appear even more elegant. Frustrated with her failed attack, Yang charged forward for a more hands-on approach. Mercury instantly followed suit. He wanted to whack the smarmy smirk off Jack’s face just as much if not more so than her.

With Yang using her fists and Mercury using his feet, the two simultaneously struck. Jack was no novice fighter. He ducked and dodged every blow, being mindful of both his foes. Mercury was smart enough to back off when Jack’s hand reached for the side of his goggles and swift enough to yank Yang by her shoulder to ensure she held off, too. The bright bronze photon beam that burst from Jack’s lenses passed right by Yang’s cheek. Had Mercury not halted her attack, the beam would’ve nailed her right between her eyes.

Switching from offense to defense, Mercury and Yang darted in opposite directions. Jack chose to ignore Mercury and solely target Yang.

Big mistake.

Taking full advantage of his opening, Mercury ran in for a back attack, crouching down to swing his leg underneath Jack and knock the pinstriped pinhead off his feet. Jack’s next beam went shooting straight up toward the sun before he rolled away and avoided getting the heel of Mercury’s boot imprinted into his face. Once back on his feet, he and Mercury engaged in hand-to-foot combat. Mercury soon deduced Jack was unable to fire his beams without touching his goggles and focused all of his attacks on his adversary's upper body, keeping Jack’s hands occupied with deflecting kick after kick and barring him from any chance to utilize his optical stun gun.

Once Mercury’s strategy officially peeved Mr. Pinstripes, Jack performed a string of back handsprings to put a fair amount of distance between them. When he reached for his goggles, Mercury anticipated another bronze beam to come blasting out. He wasn’t expecting Jack to remove them from his head and snap them in two. The gears of the goggle halves shifted around in his fingers and transformed into twin daggers.

Yang came bearing down on Jack from above with a devastating punch that fissured the rooftop when her fist missed her mark and made contact with the paved surface. Jack was quick with a counterattack and began mercilessly swiping at Yang who was just as quick to block each slash of his daggers with her gauntlets. Once Mercury and Ruby joined in, the three took turns punching, kicking, and cutting at their overwhelmed opponent.

“Three against one? That doesn’t seem fair…” Jack said.

Mercury was about to mention his blatant disregard for most rules when a sheet of ice suddenly formed underneath his feet and caused him to slip. He managed to catch himself and turn his fall into a sideways flip, but it was still enough to force him to cease his assault and regroup. He glanced over and saw Yang and Ruby also recovering from the unexpected ice, taking balanced stances and remaining alert.

The click of her high-heeled boots announced her presence as she hopped down from the roof of a neighboring building and made her way over to Jack. She twirled two batons in her hands, one blazing with bright red fire and the other glowing with light blue frost.

“What took you so long, Katie?” Jack asked, his smarmy smirk beginning to reappear from the sight of his companion.

“Traffic,” the young woman said with a smile. She was dressed in a smoky gray blouse with fitted quarter length sleeves and jet-black skinny jeans that had holes ripped at the thighs. Her long, raven hair was as shiny as the silver buckles on her knee-high boots and woven into a braid that fell over her left shoulder.

The mysterious woman’s midnight blue eyes skimmed over Ruby and Yang, but abruptly stopped when they fell upon Mercury.

“I don’t believe it… Mercury Black?” she asked, her pale, pretty face painted with absolute shock.

“Katie Gray?” Mercury replied as his fuzzy memory slowly pieced itself together. Seven years had passed since he last saw Katie, but the only thing that had really changed was how much more attractive she’d become.

“You’re still alive,” Katie said in awe. She took a step forward, but was stopped by the dust bullet Yang shot at the tip of her pointed boot.

“You two can have a heartfelt reunion after you tell me what the fuck is going on,” Yang sternly said. Her eyes weren’t red yet, but from the way they were looking at Katie, they may as well have been.

Katie seemed amused by Yang’s bold declaration. “I think it’s fairly obvious. We’re in the middle of a fight,” Katie said with an airy voice.

“Why did you attack my family?” Yang demanded, her fierce gaze locked on Jack.

Jack shrugged his shoulders. “Because your sister wouldn’t come quietly,” he replied.

“What does a merchant need my sister for?” Yang pressed.

Jack shook his head. “It’s cute how oblivious you are, sweetie. But I’m not the kind of merchant you think I am. In fact, Jack isn’t even my real name. It’s an alias since I’m a JACK-of-all-trades, including human ones.”

Human trades? Mercury repeated in his mind. A light bulb went off and suddenly the world made sense again. “You’re the one responsible for the missing girls in Vale.” Mercury’s eyes flashed to Katie. “Both of you,” he said.

“You know, you’re a lot smarter than I took you for. But—to be honest—I didn’t take you for much,” the jack-of-all-trades said as he playfully twirled one of his daggers in his hand.

“Argus, we don’t have time for this,” Katie told her conceited comrade. “The police will be arriving any minute. We need to grab the girl and go.”

Ruby lowered her stance and readied her scythe. “You think the two of you are enough to take on the three of us?” she taunted.

The horde of minions that came flooding onto their rooftop answered her question for her.

“Oh,” Ruby said as the pack of thugs came climbing up the sides of the building and jumping in from other structures. “Well, this might be slightly more problematic than I thought.”

Mercury, Yang, and Ruby formed a small circle with their backs to one another as they assessed their assembling enemies.

“First one to beat the snot out of twenty bad guys wins,” Mercury said.

“Dibs on the jerk formerly known as Jack,” Yang darkly replied.

“Team RMY, go!” Ruby exclaimed.

The trio charged and took down whatever rogues were unfortunate enough to cross their paths. Most of the underlings were untrained and went down with a single hit, but there were a good handful that seemed to know their way around a battlefield. Mercury had a particularly fun time messing with these more experienced thugs since they took it a little more personally when he literally kicked their asses.

At one point, he and Yang managed to double-team a dozen guys at once using a type of leapfrog tactic where they took turns vaulting and flipping over one another’s back. Mercury didn’t get a chance to fight alongside Yang very often, but every time he did he found himself falling for her even harder. The girl was amazing in so many ways and shined brightest of all in the thick of a fight. That’s why when one enemy’s attack caused Mercury to shield Yang and roll them out of the way, he took advantage of his planked position on top of her and stole a quick kiss.

“Now?!”

Mercury couldn’t tell if her cheeks were flushed from the fight or the kiss. “Always,” he replied with a smirk before kicking his leg back, pushing off of the ground, and rising up onto his toes—nailing a guy with a few boot bullets in the process of getting back to his feet.

He and Yang continued to tag team and thin out the swarm of baddies. It wasn’t until the last underling fell that Mercury remembered they had bigger fish to fry. Ruby’s ear-piercing scream was a grim reminder.

“Ruby!” Yang shouted, dashing across the roof to reach her sister on the other side. The jackass whose name wasn’t really Jack had returned his daggers to their goggle form and successfully stunned Ruby. Her red hood covered her head as she lied motionless at Katie’s feet.

Yang let out a guttural cry as she hurled a power-packed punch at the black-haired beauty looming over her little sister. She had sustained enough damage from her earlier skirmishes to tap into her semblance and infuse her muscles with even more strength. Katie tried to block the blow with her batons, but was overwhelmed by Yang’s sheer force and sent flying across the rooftop.

Still super charged and super eager to take him down, Yang went ballistic on Mr. Pinstripes, rapidly bombarding him with her gauntlets’ bullets before closing in for more direct attacks. Mercury watched in wonder as his girlfriend singlehandedly pulverized the pompous asshole he’d secretly wanted to trounce since they met.

With one final punch, Yang stood dominantly over the jack-of-all-losers’ limp body, her luminous golden hair blowing gently in the breeze. She looked breathtakingly beautiful.

“I love you so much right now,” Mercury said once the dust began to settle.

Yang spun around to look at him, her eyes blinking from scarlet red to light lilac. “What did you just say?”

Shit, Mercury thought when he realized the very significant word he’d so carelessly spoken. “I… I…” Mercury searched his hectic mind for a cover—anything that would negate the L word and better explain what he meant to say. Only he’d said exactly what he’d meant to say. He loved her. It wasn’t a word he used frequently, and it sure as hell wasn’t a word he used to describe the way he felt about other human beings. He said it without thinking because it seemed so natural to say, so what was the point of hiding it or pretending it wasn’t true?

Mercury’s eyes locked with Yang’s. Her face was dirty, her clothes were tattered, and her body was bruised, but she somehow managed to look as radiant as she always did.

“I love you,” Mercury resolutely said.

Yang looked like she wanted to respond, but the flaming baton that rammed into her gut interrupted. Like a boomerang, the fiery weapon spun back to its master. Katie caught it and spun it in sync with her other baton as she strutted closer.

“Now, now, Mercury. Don’t go saying things like that in front of your ex. You might start a cat fight,” Katie teased.

Yang’s eyes darted from Katie to Mercury. “She’s your ex?”

“First love, actually,” Katie corrected with pride. “You could say I taught him everything he knows. Speaking of being in the know… I wonder how much YOU know about Mercury…”

“Katie,” Mercury said with a cautionary tone.

Feigning innocence, Katie raised her eyebrows. “What? You mean she doesn’t know about your father or the night he died? She doesn’t know about your cousin? What about your uncle? Does she know about him? He’s been curious about you, you know. Unlike me, he thought there was a chance you were still alive.”

Mercury’s spine stiffened. “You still keep in touch with my uncle?” he asked.

Katie smiled like she knew a secret. “What would you do if I said yes?”

“Do you know where he is?”

Her smile deepened. “What would you do if I said he was right behind you?”

Mercury froze, his fighter sense immediately detecting the aura of another. Slowly, he turned to face the opposite direction. Standing tall and proud on the building overlooking their rooftop was a burly man covered from head to toe in gears and gadgets with a bulky gray tool belt wrapped around his waist. His white hair was blindingly bright in the sun’s glare and stood out immensely against his tanned skin and black clothes. That went double for the goatee framing his chin.

“Uncle Maurice,” Mercury said.

“Long time no see, guinea pig,” Maurice replied.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As you may have noticed, I'm introducing original characters! These, like all RWBY characters, are based off of other fictional folks and have a certain color associated with their name. They'll also eventually reveal their own unique semblances, too ;)
> 
> Maurice Black = Daedalus  
> Argus "Jack" Copperfield = Argus Panoptes  
> Katie Gray = Hekate, the goddess of magic
> 
> I was trying to keep this fic as close to canon as possible... but I've found it's a little more fun to deviate :) Hope you still like the original stuff! (^^)/


	11. Maurice

Yang looked from the muscular man towering over them on his perch atop the taller building to the petrified face of her boyfriend. She had never seen Mercury so pale. Whoever this Maurice was, he was fearsome enough to stun people without goggles that shot photon beams, and that warranted some caution.

“I saw you on TV during the Vytal festival six years ago,” Maurice called, his voice as booming as thunder. “Some assumed you died in that Grimm attack.” His eyes fell fleetingly on Katie. “But I knew better. I knew how difficult it would be to kill a rodent like you.”

Yang waited for the cocky comeback Mercury must’ve been dying to bark back, only it didn’t come. Mercury was practically a stone statue. The only thing moving was the bead of sweat dripping from his temple to his chin.

“I’m actually glad you’re alive,” Maurice mused with a crooked smile. “It means I’ll have the pleasure of killing you.”

“Over my dead body,” Yang said before she realized what she was doing. She made a beeline for the boulder of a man, pushing off the brink of her rooftop to launch herself up to his. She aimed her gauntlets and readied her shots, but Maurice wasn’t one to dawdle. He’d already unsheathed one of the contraptions strapped about his tool belt and fired a set of buzzsaws straight at her throat. Yang felt her heart leap in her chest as she watched the gleaming discs speed towards her just before she felt a tug at her ankle that pulled her down into the safety of Mercury’s arms. He caught her bridal style and pushed off the building to propel them backward until they landed an embarrassingly safe distance away from his uncle.

“What are you doing? We should fight him!” Yang argued, shoving Mercury’s chest.

His hold on her tightened. “No. We shouldn’t.” His words were meant for her, but his eyes were fixed on Maurice.

“Mercury, he can’t be that dangerous.”

“You say that because you haven’t met him. The only thing we need to do right now is grab Ruby and go.”

A wave of panic flashed through her mind. In all the excitement, she’d forgotten her stunned sister. The sounds of a dust-powered engine and whipping wind drew Yang’s attention to the far side of the roof where Ruby was struck down. A helicopter was closing in and Katie had Ruby thrown over her bony shoulder, ready to board.

“Ruby!” Yang screamed, fighting her way out of Mercury’s hold. She sprinted as fast as she could, but deep down she knew she would never reach them in time. Burning hot tears formed in her eyes as she activated her semblance and picked up speed. Through her peripheral vision, she saw Maurice ready his buzzsaw gun again, but she didn’t care. If she didn’t try to save Ruby now, she might lose her forever.

Katie had one high-heeled boot in the helicopter when a bullet shot straight through her ankle. Katie screeched in agony and reached for her injury, losing her grip on Ruby. Yang watched in horror as her lifeless sister plummeted from the edge of the building.

“NO!” Yang shrieked; her human hand helplessly outstretched as she forced her feet to go even faster.

Miraculously, the long, silver chain of a kusarigama came flying out of nowhere and ensnared Ruby’s small waist. Yang’s eyes followed along to the end of the life-saving weapon and found its wielder standing on the window ledge of the neighboring building, trying her best not to be dragged down by Ruby’s weight.

“Geez, kid. You need to lay off the cookies,” Emerald said through gritted teeth.

“Emerald,” Yang said breathlessly. She had never been so happy to see her green-haired friend in her entire life.

Treating Ruby like the pendulum of a clock, Emerald swung her back and forth. “Mercury, go long!” Emerald called once she had enough momentum built up to release Ruby from her chain and send her flying across the rooftop straight into Mercury’s arms.

“Blondie! Let’s go!” Mercury yelled the moment he made the catch.

“R-right!” Yang stammered. Now that they had Ruby again, there was no reason to stay. She turned on her heel and started bolting back to Mercury’s side of the roof.

“Argus! Katie! After them!” Maurice called from his perch.

Yang looked over her shoulder to see Argus slightly stirring from the pile of rubble she’d beaten him into. Jack, or Argus, or Joe, or whatever his name happened to be was still too discombobulated to be of any assistance. Katie wasn’t much help either. Still nursing the wound inflicted upon her by Emerald, the dark-haired enchantress reached for her light blue baton and formed massive wedges of ice she sent crashing toward Yang. Yang managed to dive out of the way of every miniature iceberg, breathing a sigh of relief when she leapt off the edge of the building and out of Katie’s range. Although, it wasn’t until they were safe on the ground surrounded by the flashing lights of cop cars and the polished uniforms of police officers that Yang felt complete relief.

“Here, miss,” a kind officer said as he handed her a plastic cup of hot chocolate. She wasn’t sure what store was still open in this part of town and selling hot chocolate after all of the mayhem, but she graciously accepted the warm drink.

“Thank you,” she said. She adjusted the blanket wrapped around her shoulders and sat up straight on the brick set of steps serving as her seat.

Ruby was still unconscious and lying on a stretcher in the back of an ambulance along with her father who had just started coming to. The medics advised the police not to overwhelm him with questions since he was still recovering from being stunned, so they let him rest.

Yang took a sip of her hot chocolate, letting the warm steam fill her nose as she gulped it down. Her eyes traveled across the sea of police until they rested on her silver-haired boyfriend speaking with several officers. She couldn’t hear what they were saying, but she could tell from the way he moved that Mercury wasn’t himself. He’d been completely out of it from the moment his uncle appeared. Yang put both hands on her cup and clasped it firmly as she thought about what awful things that man must’ve done to him to evoke that kind of fear.

“Hey,” Emerald said as she took a seat on Yang’s stoop.

“Hi, Em,” Yang greeted back. “Hot chocolate?” she asked, offering Emerald the dented cup. She’d held it a little too firmly.

“No thanks. I’m trying to cut down.”

A few moments of companionable silence passed before Yang spoke again.

“Thank you for saving my sister,” she said. “If you hadn’t been there… Actually, I’d rather not think about what would’ve happened if you hadn’t been there.”

“Then don’t. Because it didn’t happen,” Emerald told her.

Yang nodded. “Right. Thank you.”

More silence followed. Yang spoke again.

“How did you know how to find us, anyway?”

Emerald folded her arms and rested her elbows on her bent knees. “Mercury and I caught a short, little lowlife a few nights ago who snitched on all of his connections and superiors,” she said. “He told us he and his crew were employed to go around and find the rarest, most exotic girls in the world. He was even nice enough to tip us off on their next hit. When I heard it was a young, silver-eyed Huntress in Patch, I knew it had to be Ruby. So I tagged along with the Valian police force and here we are.”

Yang’s eyes scanned over all of the surrounding cops again. “I thought this amount of officers was a little strange for Patch. Nothing this exciting ever happens here. I’d be surprised if there were more than ten people employed at Patch’s police station.”

Emerald gave a short snort of laughter. “Count yourself lucky, then. The crime rates in Remnant only seem to go up lately.”

“Says the expert thief,” Yang pointed out with a smile.

“Hey. I earn my living nowadays. I’ve put my bad habits behind me the same way Mercury put his bad habits behind him.”

Yang’s smile faded at the mention of Mercury; her eyes traveled back to his emotionless face. She hesitated, mulling her words over and frowning when she noticed the lack of a spark in her boyfriend’s steel gray irises. Quietly, she asked, “Has Mercury ever told you anything about his uncle?”

Emerald’s eyes took on a look just as distant as Mercury’s. She was facing the cop car parked in front of their brick steps, but she was gazing somewhere beyond it. “In the seven years I’ve known him, not once has he brought up his family. We’ve never really done the whole ‘bonding’ thing. We each know the other has a dark past and chose to accept it regardless of what it might’ve been comprised of. He’s mentioned bits and pieces in passing, but I doubt I know anything more than you.”

Yang sighed. “I figured. It’s just… I’ve never seen Mercury look so scared. Seeing him scared sort of scared me. And it was the first time Mercury’s master plan was to retreat. I mean, what could’ve possibly happened between him and his uncle to make him react that way?”

“That,” Emerald said, glancing from her partner to Yang, “is something for you and him to discuss.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one was short but sweet. I'll have more soon! (b^_^)b


	12. Born in a Nightmare

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whew! Sorry this is a bit late! I've been busy with cosplay and a convention. Not to mention this next chapter is a doozy, but it's the grand finale, so it had to be good ;)
> 
> WARNING: There IS another sex scene ahead. If you'd rather skip it, stop reading when you see the ~*~*~*~*~*~ and resume when you see the next set of ~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The sun was starting to set and turn the clear blue sky into a mix of periwinkle, pink, and orange by the time they made it back to their secluded log cabin. Yang got to drive. Taiyang was still woozy from the paralysis and went straight to bed as soon as they got home. After fighting a loosing battle against her droopy eyelids, Ruby did the same.

Qrow was still undergoing his mission in Vale. At least, that’s what they guessed since he wasn’t home. Yang asked Mercury if he thought she should call her uncle to let him know about the day’s unexpected incident, but Mercury suggested waiting until Qrow got back. There was no way of knowing what sort of mission he was on, and any added anxiety—especially for his family—might complicate things for him.

“Wait and tell him in person. No point in making him worry over nothing,” Mercury said.

Yang collapsed her open scroll and put it in the pouch that sat on her hip. “Okay,” she agreed. It was the end to the only conversation they had during their dinner of leftovers.

Once they finished washing their plates, they headed upstairs. Mercury thought Yang might joke about him sleeping on the couch again, but no one had been in a joking mood since leaving the town. There wasn’t a single cloud in the sunset sky, but it felt like there was a personal dull gray one hovering over each of their heads.

Mercury felt slightly guilty since the source of Yang’s gloomy cloud was coming from the concern she had for him. She’d refrained from saying anything, but Mercury caught her stealing glances at him in the car’s rearview mirror the whole drive home. He also noticed her eyes fixed on him during their silent supper as well as when he was being questioned by the police officers back in town. He didn’t like making her worry, but knew he’d only make it worse if he told her not to. There was only one way he could think of that would put her mind at ease, and Mercury was still debating if he wanted to go through with it or not.

“I’ll go wash up downstairs if you want to use the upstairs bathroom,” Yang told him when they got to her room. The faintest hint of a smile tugged at the corner of her mouth when she added, “We still didn’t manage to get you any clothes, heh. But yours should be dry by now. I’ll go get them.”

Yang turned to leave, but Mercury latched onto her wrist before she got very far. Her long blond locks whipped wildly from the jerk of her head when she spun around while her lilac eyes followed from the hand clutching hers up to the steel-gray gaze staring so intently it made her breath catch in her throat.

“W-what is it?” Yang stammered.

“I… want to talk,” Mercury said.

“Okay? About what?”

“About what you’ve been nice enough to avoid talking about.”

Mercury released her and together they sat on the edge of Yang’s bed. Yang didn’t say anything. He could tell she wanted to, but he had a feeling she was going to wait for him to finish before bombarding him with the questions he didn’t voluntarily answer.

“My dad wasn’t a nice guy,” he began. “You already knew as much, but his twin brother, Maurice, was even worse. They both developed respective reputations as murderers and, for some reason beyond me, they both developed this desire to mentor children and continue their legacies. My dad had me, as you may have guessed, while my uncle fathered a son as well as adopted a daughter. He liked to one-up my dad every chance he got. ‘May the best twin win,’ kind of mentality. Anyway, the daughter my uncle adopted was Katie; the same Katie you met earlier today.”

“Your ex, Katie,” Yang clarified.

Mercury shifted uncomfortably. “We’ll get to that later,” he told her before clearing his throat and continuing. “My uncle found a woman desperate enough to bear him a child and named him Mickarus. I never knew my mother, and I doubt Mickarus knew his either. The things we did know growing up were how to run, hide, and fight. Training with each other was the kind of socialization we got as kids, and we only trained together on the last day of every month. All the other days it was just my dad and me in our little mountain villa. Fun times, let me tell ya.”

Mercury gazed off, lost in a dark memory of his drunken father chasing after him yelling, “Why can’t you beat him? What can’t you beat him?!” He winced when the recollected fist swung at his face, then opened his eyes at the comforting touch of Yang’s embrace.

“I’m right here,” she said so soothingly it could’ve been a song.

Mercury nodded into her shoulder. “Sorry. I’ll try to stay focused. Where was I?”

Yang pulled away, allowing the tips of her human fingers to linger on his arm before returning them to her lap. “You were saying how you, Katie, and Mickarus met up once a month to train together.”

“Right. Training… Katie and I were pretty run-of-the-mill, but Mickarus was amazing—a real prodigy. He was incredible at hand-to-hand combat and just as book smart as he was street smart. The most common reason I got my ass handed to me by my old man was because he wanted me to be more like Mick. But I wasn’t. I learned slowly. I failed constantly. Yet I never stopped. I fought through all of the pain and withstood everything I had thrown at me. The harder the hit, the more determined I was to take it. I think my persistence is what convinced my dad to keep me alive. He taught me everything he knew, though not for my own sake. I think, more than anything, he wanted me to beat Mickarus and prove to Maurice which brother had better blood. There goes that may-the-best-twin-win mentality again.

“Unfortunately for my father, the only thing I wound up beating Mick at was gaining Katie’s affections. About the time we were fifteen, we were washing up in a river after a particularly rough day—just the two of us. She mentioned how she thought I was improving, but I brushed her off. She took offense to that and pushed me into the rushing water. I pretended like I couldn’t swim and scared her into saving me. When she found out the water was only waist high, she punched me, which led to us fighting, which led to us kissing, which led to us—”

“I get the picture. You guys were cute,” Yang grumbled with an exaggerated roll of her eyes. “Moving on.”

Mercury bit back a laugh and, just as she requested, moved on. “One day, during one of my uncle’s lovely visits, I overheard him talking to my father about a new poison he’d created. So not only is this guy a serial killer, he’s an inventor who specializes in weaponry and toxins and is an expert at combining the two. You got to see one of his inventions firsthand. I guarantee those buzzsaw blades he shot at you were coated in some type of poison.”

“Oh,” Yang said. She seemed uneasy, and Mercury had no doubt it was because she was imagining what might’ve happened had one of those saws nicked her. “So what type of poison was it?”

“That was the thing. He hadn’t tested it out on humans yet, but, besides being lethal, it was supposed to be unimaginably painful. He’d concocted it for a particular target and wanted it to be just right. Apparently, he had a vendetta against this guy. That’s when my dad had the brilliant idea to test it out on me. ‘Put it on Mickey’s blade and see what happens,’ were his exact words.” Mercury gave a bitter snort of laughter as he recalled the memory. “And that’s exactly what they did, though I had the upper hand because I knew what was going on. They didn’t tell Mickarus about the poison, otherwise he probably wouldn’t have gone through with it. I wasn’t so kind. The first chance I got, I wrestled Mick’s lance from his grip and slashed at his legs.

“I remember the poison didn’t take effect immediately, so I threw the lance as far as I could once I made the cuts. I was planning on spending the rest of the match outrunning Mickarus until he succumbed, however I didn’t get the chance. My uncle came bounding to his son’s side to administer the antidote… but since the poison was untested so was the cure. And while the poison wound up being extremely potent and effective, the antidote did not.”

Mercury paused as his vivid memory played itself over in his mind. He remembered the evening’s humid air and blood red hues painted in the darkening sky. He remembered the weight of his cousin’s weapon, the cry of his cousin’s pain, and the pounding pulse of his rapid heartbeat throughout all of it. He remembered the distant sound of Katie’s voice calling out to him. He remembered the frightened look on his uncle’s face as well as the sinister look of satisfaction donning his father’s. It almost made him sick to his stomach.

“Poisoning my cousin was the worst thing I’d ever done at that point in my life,” he said. “It was also the first time my dad was ever proud of me.”

Mercury was so lost in thought he didn’t notice Yang’s hand reach out until he felt her warm touch on his back. She moved her palm in small, gentle circles, massaging him in a reassuring way.

“Were you proud of yourself?” she asked.

Mercury shook his head. “I don’t really remember. I think I might’ve been for an instant, but that instant disappeared the very next night when I saw how bad Mick’s condition had become. His veins were as thick as tree roots and bulging out of his skin, but at the same time his legs were so skinny I thought they might break if I so much as pinched them. His face was gaunt and he kept throwing up anything he ate. It was awful to see such a strong person in such terrible shape, and even worse knowing I was the reason he was suffering.

“My dad put the idea in my head that this was natural—it was either going to be me or him, and I picked me. ‘If it’s a selfish choice, it’s the right choice,’ he told me. And I believed him. My cousin—my own flesh and blood, the closest thing I had to a friend—was dying, and I didn’t feel one shred of regret because of the filth my father brainwashed me with.”

Mercury paused long enough to shake his head and dispel the bad thoughts starting to consume him. The last thing he wanted to do was attract any Grimm to Yang’s peaceful home. Once he felt like he could handle it, he continued.

“In a final attempt to save his son’s life, my uncle built a set of mechanical legs overnight. It was his hope that removing the most infected areas would stop the poison from spreading and save Mickarus’s life. But Mickarus was too weak…” Mercury bit his bottom lip and blinked back the newly formed tears stinging his eyes. “He couldn’t… couldn’t hold on. He died during the operation.”

Mercury drew a shuddering breath and waited until his tears stopped threatening to spill over before continuing. Yang looked on silently as he did so.

“Katie and I waited outside the basement my uncle transformed into his operation room. We weren’t expecting him to come bursting through the door so hard he knocked it off one of its hinges, but he did. I’ll never forget the look in his bloodshot eyes—a terrifying mixture of grief and rage burning like wildfire. As soon as those eyes caught sight of me, he came barreling through the hallway and grabbed at my throat. Katie tried to stop him, but she was no match for his mammoth strength. He slammed her against a wall, knocking her unconscious before dragging me kicking and screaming down into the basement. Daddy dearest was nowhere to be found.

“Rather than waste a perfectly good invention, my uncle decided to bestow me with his latest creation. ‘If you survive this, you’ll have finally done something my son wasn’t able to do,’ he’d said. He didn’t even bother numbing or drugging me. I eventually passed out from the exhaustion that came with screaming my lungs out and the excruciating pain. The next thing I knew, I woke up alone, strapped to a stone-cold table in my basement with bloody bandages wrapped around my thighs and no feeling in my legs.”

Mercury turned to face Yang just in time to watch a single tear roll down her cheek. He reached his hand to her face and wiped the wet trail it left behind away with his thumb.

“The story gets better,” he said, removing his hand. “I used my new limbs to obliterate everything that crossed my path that night, reveling like a mad man in how much stronger and more destructive they made me. Doors, walls, the operating table that bastard mutilated me on—all of it! I thrashed everything and set it on fire. My dad made it home just in time to see our house go up in flames. Obviously, he wasn’t too happy with me, but the feeling went both ways. We had it out with one another right in our front yard, and I was finally able to put an end to it all by putting an end to him.”

He assessed Yang’s reaction, wondering how monstrous she must think him for murdering his own father, but she looked absorbed, not appalled.

“What happened next?” she asked.

Mercury felt silly for thinking Yang would judge him like that. He suppressed the urge to kiss her and answered her question instead.

“As luck would have it, Cinder and Emerald came strolling out of the woods the second after I killed him. At first, I thought about killing them, too, since they were witnesses. But when Cinder started talking about her plans and the faction she was a part of, I figured teaming up with her would be the best way to stay alive and out of my uncle’s reach. A year later, I was wearing a Haven academy uniform and pretending to be a studious Hunter in training.”

Mercury paused. When he spoke again, his tone was much lighter. “The worst part was when I was forced to spar with this annoyingly arrogant blonde who had a thing for equally arrogant assholes.”

A small smile and a pair of rosy cheeks shifted Yang’s sad expression. “No one FORCED you to do anything. If I recall, you volunteered to be MY partner.”

Mercury shrugged. “Only because I could tell you wanted me from the moment you saw me.”

Yang laughed mockingly. “I think your eyes were a little too preoccupied with my boobs to notice how much I may or may not have wanted you.”

“Is that so?”

Mercury launched himself at Yang and pinned her to the bed. He hovered over her for a moment, his elbows on either side of her head. The moonlight pouring in from her bedroom window made Yang’s eyes look ethereal and cast a silvery sheen on her long, golden hair. Her chest began to rise and fall more quickly, no doubt keeping up with the heart rate that was going berserk from anticipating what Mercury might do next.

The only thing more marveling than her body was the soul it contained. Little by little, she had managed to remove the walls Mercury built to protect himself from ever getting hurt by another person ever again. Little by little, she had made him feel less like an abomination and more like a human. Even after all of the terrible things he’d done to her, her sister, her friends, and her school, she’d managed to forgive him and befriend him. Mercury wasn’t sure what he’d done to deserve such a woman, but then again maybe it was the universe’s way of apologizing for all of the other shit it’d put him through.

“I don’t deserve you,” he said, his eyes unblinking as he held her gaze. “But I’m going to do whatever I can to keep you.”

Yang took his face in her hands, the feel of her cold metal fingers sending chills down his spine. She looked like she wanted to say something, but her words escaped her. Instead, Yang lowered his mouth to hers for a soft, unhurried kiss. The kiss stayed slow as her hands traveled down from his face to his neck to his shoulders to his biceps to his hips to his belt.

Suddenly, Mercury stopped kissing her.

“What’s wrong?” she asked.

“I… can’t,” Mercury said in a voice barely more audible than a whisper.

“You can’t what? Get it up?”

“No. I can’t… do this…” Mercury made a face like he couldn’t believe what he was saying.

“Okay… Why can’t you—”

“It’s that stupid PG rule.”

Yang finally let her hands drop from his belt buckle and sighed in exasperation. “Unbelievable. Why do you pick times like these to give a flying fuck about rules?”

Mercury rolled off of her so he could lie next to her on the bed and stare up at the ceiling. “I don’t care about the rules so much as I care about your father liking me.”

“You realize it doesn’t matter what any of my family thinks about you if I stop liking you, right?” she deadpanned.

Mercury’s jaw tightened. The sound of the wind blowing against the thick wooden house filled the silence that followed until he asked, “What exactly was the rule again?”

“Keep it PG, or keep it out of this house,” Yang replied in a voice that was as low as it was stern. He could tell she was mimicking her father, though it was a rather unimpressive impression.

After repeating the rule once more in his head, Mercury turned on his side to face Yang, propping himself up on one arm. “So let’s get out of here,” he said with a smirk slightly more impish than his signature one.

Yang raised an eyebrow.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

They hurried down the stairs, through the living room, past the kitchen, and out to the backyard. By the time they made it through the creaky door of Taiyang’s toolshed, they were wrapped in each other’s arms and lip-locked with more passion than either of them knew what to do with.

Moaning uncontrollably against the other’s mouth, they spun their way around the shed, blindly bumping into the lawnmower, tripping over a toolbox, and colliding into the workbench. Refusing to let his lips part from hers, Mercury lifted Yang up onto the sturdy wood of the workbench behind her and felt for her boots, fiddling with her buckles one by one until they came undone. The moment her feet were free of her bulky footwear, she placed her heels on the back of Mercury’s thighs and pulled him closer. The giggle that mixed in with her sighs told him she’d noticed how hard he was.

He unclasped the garters holding up her stockings and peeled the flimsy material away, dropping them to the floor to join her discarded boots. Next came her skirt, which she more than willingly wiggled out of. Her fingers crawled their way underneath his shirt and dug into the bare skin of his back. She must’ve decided she needed more skin to scratch, for her hands hastily trailed from his lower back to his front and yanked the buttons of his shirt apart. She smoothed her palms up his abs, over his chest, and underneath the shoulders of his shirt to pull the fabric down his arms, taking time to admire the muscles that lined them.

Mercury suddenly—desperately—needed to feel her skin on his. He pulled the three layers of tops Yang was wearing off in one smooth motion, revealing a lacy orange bra barely big enough to contain her breasts.

“Mercury the Magnificent makes a comeback,” Yang teased with a smile as she watched all three tops fall to the floor. “What are you going to do for your next trick?”

Tangling his fingers in her golden mane, Mercury brought his lips to her ear. “I’ll need a volunteer,” he said in a low, sensual voice.

Mercury could tell she liked the sound of that as she visibly shuddered from the shivers undoubtedly racing down her spine. “I’ll go get Ruby,” she whispered back, hopping down from her seat atop the workbench dressed in nothing but her underwear and taking two steps towards the toolshed’s door.

Mercury rolled his eyes and grabbed her mechanical arm, spinning her back to him and trapping her against his chest. “Always gotta be the jokester, don’t you, Blondie?”

She grinned as if he’d just given her one of her favorite compliments, which Mercury reminded himself he probably had. “You make it too easy,” she said before surrendering to another kiss.

Hoisting Yang onto his hips, Mercury walked her to an open wall and smashed her back against the smooth wood planks. Yang yelped from the collision, but was quick to ravenously return her mouth to his. Her hands traveled down to his belt and undid the buckle, sliding the leather accessory out of its loops and placing it just beneath his ass. With a firm tug, she pulled Mercury’s hips closer to hers using the belt as leverage.

Taking the hint, Mercury undid his fly and removed his pants while Yang stepped down to slide off what little clothes she had left. Before she could climb back onto him, Mercury forcefully spun her by her shoulders and pressed her chest against the wall, planting slightly less forceful kisses down her neck as he slid himself into her.

“Ahh!” she gasped. The sound was like music to his ears. Any sound Yang made during sex always turned him on. She could probably recite the encyclopedia right now and he’d still be hot and bothered.

With one arm wrapped around her stomach and the opposite hand pressed against the wall, Mercury thrust in again. His movements were slow, but that was also because he was giving her the full length of him. Yang reached her hand back behind his neck and turned her head in search of a kiss; one which Mercury saw no reason to withhold. As much as he wanted to deepen the kiss, Yang broke away to gasp again. The sound sent a surge of adrenaline through Mercury’s body that amplified every move he made.

Once he’d picked up speed, Yang’s fingers found the hand he had resting on her hip and guided it down to her sweet spot. He readily complied, circling two of his fingers on the nub of flesh that needed tending to. Yang moaned in appreciation and slid her hand down to his forearm. He could tell her hold wasn’t so much to keep him in place as it was to indicate how he was doing. If her nails were digging into his skin and causing him pain, it meant he was doing it right. If her fingers went slack and Yang went silent, it meant he needed to figure out what the fuck he was doing wrong. So far, he was doing it right.

The wooden boards of the wall creaked in complaint as Mercury and Yang vigorously pushed against them. It should’ve been no surprise when the worn wood gave way in a grating crash, but Mercury was too focused on his insanely enticing girlfriend to pay the deteriorating architecture much attention.

Upon toppling to the grassy ground outside of the shed, Mercury immediately pulled himself off and out of Yang. “Are you okay?!” he asked, albeit a bit more panicked than he’d intended.

Staying underneath him, Yang rolled over onto her back, her arms hiding her face as she laughed hysterically. “Only you could fuck me good enough to demolish a building,” she said, beaming so big her teeth gleamed in the moonlight.

Relieved that Yang was both okay and in such good spirits, Mercury allowed himself a smile as well. “When you say ‘building,’ it sounds like you mean a skyscraper. And I don’t know if I’d count one hole in the wall as demolishing a—”

“Shut up and kiss me.”

Mercury didn’t shut up for much, but he shut up for that. Completely exposed to the night air, they rolled away from the pile of broken wood to a much softer patch of grass and picked up right where they left off until both of them came hard enough to take down the other three walls of the shed.

“That… was incredible…” Yang said despite being completely out of breath. She was using Mercury’s shoulder as a pillow and staring up at the starry sky twinkling like dust crystals.

Mercury was panting just as much as her and couldn’t even produce the words to agree, settling instead for a simple, breathless, “Uh-huh.”

Yang found this response amusing and gave him a playful kiss where his jaw met his neck. Mercury could’ve lied like that forever. The cool autumn air felt remarkable against his sweaty skin and Yang’s soft, warm body pressed up against him felt even better. The stars truly did shine brighter in Patch than anywhere else he’d ever traveled—and being the wanderer he was, that was saying something.

“We should probably go inside,” Yang said once her breathing returned to normal. She made a move to get up, but Mercury’s arm caught her.

“Just a few more minutes,” he said with closed eyes. Yang didn’t need more convincing. She lowered herself back down and snuggled closer.

“What are you thinking?” she asked after several minutes of stargazing.

Mercury didn’t even need a beat to contemplate his answer. “How glad I am I survived all of the abuse my father and uncle put me through so I could be right here right now… with you.”

Yang let out a long sigh. “There you go again, being a boyfriend and saying boyfriendy things.”

Mercury smirked. “I’m still waiting for you to say girlfriendy things.”

“Like what?”

That one made Mercury stop and consider. Had he been totally honest, he would’ve said she’d never responded when he told her he loved her. To be fair, it wasn’t entirely her fault since she got attacked the very next instant. But he couldn’t stop himself from secretly wondering if Yang felt strongly enough to verbally confirm it. Most people would argue that actions spoke louder, but their actions had always been a little on the confusing side no matter how loud they were. He knew it didn’t matter one way or the other—there was no changing how HE felt—but part of him really wanted to hear her say it. It was the same part of him that felt lighter than air the first time Yang called him her boyfriend; a part of him he didn’t even know existed until he met her.

“What do you want me to say?” Yang pressed.

“Nothing. Maybe we should go inside. Or at least put some clothes on before your family sees us.”

Mercury tried to sit up, but Yang kept him pinned to the ground. “You’re hiding something,” she said.

“I’m not.”

“You are!”

“I swear.”

“On what?”

“Pineapple and peperoni pizza.”

Yang studied Mercury’s face, her chin resting on the hands she had folded on top of his chest. “That’s a pretty substantial thing to swear on,” she noted.

Mercury shrugged. “Now you know I’m not kidding. So can we go inside already?”

Whether she believed him or not, Yang slid off of him and they both got to their feet. They awkwardly searched the shed for their clothes and headed into the house. Yang let Mercury use the upstairs shower and laid his clean laundry out for him to change into when he was finished. It was a weird habit, but Mercury preferred sleeping fully clothed. He liked to be ready for anything—even in a place as peaceful as Patch—and after a day like the one they’d had, he’d be damned if he wasn’t sleeping like the apocalypse was upon them.

Dressed in everything but his boots which he kept nestled at the foot of the bed, fully loaded with bullets, Mercury crawled underneath the comforter. Yang was still freshening up downstairs. He would’ve waited for her to come to bed, but the second his head hit the pillow, fatigue set in and claimed him. He’d definitely earned this repose.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

It was a sunny day in a meadow filled with bright yellow lilies. There was a purple mountain range in the distance with a gigantic lake at its base reflecting its surroundings as perfectly as a mirror. A pleasant wind breezed past Mercury, carrying with it a handful of lily petals. Mercury’s eyes followed the dancing petals until they turned him around and brought the woman standing directly behind him to his attention. It was Yang. She had her back to him, but there was no mistaking that mane of golden locks. Mercury called her name, except no sound came out when he tried to speak. Startled, he attempted to call out to her again and failed just the same.

The wind started blowing harder and the cerulean sky above shifted to a dark crimson color. Every last flower in the field wilted and died right before Mercury’s eyes. He tried to take a step forward, but his feet resisted. As if sensing his dilemma, Yang finally turned around and faced him. When she did, Mercury’s eyes were immediately drawn to the dagger impaling her stomach and the bright amber aura pouring out of her like molten metal. Yang’s hands clutched the weapon’s handle, her face as empty as a town ravaged by the Grimm. Her knees slumped to the ground and she fell face first into the dead flowers, gradually disintegrating into tiny golden specks of light. Mercury wanted to scream and run to her, but both of those functions remained unavailable to him. All he could do was stand there and watch Yang fade into nothingness. His body burned with the outrage at his own uselessness.

Just beyond Yang, clusters of red rose petals were rising up into the air. They were coming from an unconscious Ruby lying just as still and disappearing just as quickly as her sister. Taiyang, Qrow, and Emerald were also sprawled out around him, their colorful auras evaporating into the dark red sky. Everyone he cared about was dying.

A low, raspy laugh that was somewhere between a Beowolf growl and a semi truck’s horn drew his attention back toward the mountainous side of the meadow. Mercury still lacked the ability to walk, but he did have the ability to turn, and upon doing so found Maurice flanked by Katie and Argus. All three were staring him down wickedly.

Argus held out his hand, and the dagger that had been lodged in Yang’s abdomen came whirling back to its master. Mercury desperately tried to break whatever hold was paralyzing him, but it was no use. He watched with pure fear as his uncle unhinged a silver hammer from his tool belt and made it grow and transform into a glinting battle-axe. Maurice readied his weapon and roared like an ungodly animal as he charged toward Mercury.

The moment before impact, Mercury woke with a start in Yang’s room. He sat bolt upright in bed, his breathing erratic and his body covered in a cold sweat. A second later, Yang’s arms were around him.

“You’re okay,” she gently whispered, brushing her lips against his shoulder before resting her head on the same spot she kissed and holding him closer. “I’m right here. You’re okay.”

Her words and touch helped settle his heart and calm his nerves. He swallowed the lump in his throat once his breathing was under control and placed his hand on top of the one Yang was squeezing his shoulder with.

“I’m sorry,” was all he could think to say.

Yang shook her head. “Don’t be.” She pulled away to look him in the eyes. “I fight off nightmares for a living. If I couldn’t handle my boyfriend’s bad dreams, I should probably hand in my gauntlets and take up knitting.”

Mercury managed a smile. “Somehow you with a pair of knitting needles is more terrifying than what I just woke up from.” A remark like that would’ve normally earned him a halfhearted punch in the arm, but under the circumstances, he received a mock glare and a quick kiss instead.

Yang brushed his sweaty hair out of his eyes with her fingers and caressed his cheek. A brief memory of Yang’s diminishing body flashed through Mercury’s mind. Without thinking, he ensnared her in a sudden embrace and pulled her on top of him. He closed his eyes and savored the moment. Yang was alive. She smelled as sweet as a field of flowers—healthy flowers. Not the kind that wither and die in the blink of an eye. She felt warm and her heartbeat was as strong as ever. This was his reality. Everything was fine and everyone he cared about was safe. There was no reason to worry.

Still, in the back of his mind, he couldn’t help but think of how powerless he became in Maurice’s presence. He knew it was a figment of his imagination, yet deep down he also knew that his uncle truly did have that kind of effect on him.

My uncle knows I’m alive and where to find me, he thought.

His eyes flickered from the window to Yang’s bedroom door. What would he do if Maurice attacked at that very moment? His mind raced to come up with an efficient strategy as a means to answer that alarming question. Just as he was calculating the finishing touches of his plan, Yang pulled away and cupped his face in her hands.

“Stop worrying,” she said. “You’re awake now. You’re safe. The nightmare isn’t real.”

Not yet, it wasn’t. But Mercury didn’t want to tell her that. He instead nodded and took her hands in his, kissing them before offering his best, untroubled smirk. With one last comforting kiss, they burrowed under the bedding and went back to sleep. At least Yang did. Mercury waited until he was certain the blond beauty beside him was out like a light before easing away from her and sliding out of bed. It was tricky since she’d chosen to wrap both of her arms and one leg around him, but he utilized the flexibility and grace he’d gained as a fighter to successfully escape without waking her.

After putting his boots on, he walked over to Yang’s side of the bed and gazed down at his slumbering girlfriend. She was smiling and hugging the pillow Mercury used to take his place. “I love you…” she mumbled into the feather-filled fabric.

Mercury felt his eyes go wide. For a moment, he thought she’d been imagining him when she said that, but common sense soon set in and he realized she was probably dreaming about a gigantic slice of pizza or a quadruple-stacked ice cream cone with four of her favorite flavors. He couldn’t help but chuckle at how cute she looked as he pictured her clutching colossal versions of her favorite foods and smiling big enough to create floating hearts all around her.

Yang stirred again, nuzzling her nose into her pillow. “I love you so much, Mercury.” Her voice was muffled, but not enough to obscure his name.

Mercury’s body tensed and for a moment the entire world seemed to stop. Not in a way that froze him in place like in his nightmare. It was more like everything else was frozen while he and Yang were the only two things in existence for that brief point in time. She might not have been conscious when she said it, but then again she’d been saying she loved him subconsciously for years. They both had. And he’d be damned if he’d let some self-important douchebag like his uncle take someone as precious as her away from him. That went for Emerald, Ruby, Taiyang, and even Qrow. Mercury had been deprived of a family his whole life. Now that he finally had the decent makings for one, he was going to do everything in his power to protect them.

Mercury took one last look at Yang, engraving every detail he could into his memory. He wasn’t sure how long it would be until he saw her again, but he knew it wouldn’t be anytime soon.

He leaned down and kissed her forehead. “Wait for me,” he whispered against her skin. Yang happily sighed in her sleep. He took that to signify her consent.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you liked Mercury's back story :D
> 
> I'm curious to see how much of it will ring true with the actual canon of the show... probably none of it ("^^)> But that's why this is an alternate universe!


	13. Wait for Me

“Good morning, sis!” Ruby said upon seeing her sister enter the kitchen.

“Good morning, Rubes. Glad to see you’re feeling better,” Yang replied.

“Much better!” Ruby confirmed. “That stun gun was something else. I really hope the police catch them soon.”

Yang took a seat at the table and reached for the pitcher of orange juice to fill up the empty glass at her place setting. “No sign of them anywhere, huh?” she asked as she poured.

“Unfortunately, no,” Taiyang grumbled from his side of the table, nosily folding down the newspaper that had been hiding him from view with a loud snap. The headline read: HUMAN TRAFFICKERS GET AWAY AFTER THWARTED ABDUCTION. “If there’s one thing those criminals are good at, it’s evading the authorities.”

“I would say, ‘Glad to see you’re feeling better, too, Dad,’ only it doesn’t sound like you are,” Yang teased before taking a sip of juice.

“I’ll feel loads better once those goons are behind bars,” Taiyang said. “For now, I guess I’ll just have to rely on the funnies to get me through the day.” He reopened his newspaper and flipped to the colorful page full of comic strips.

Yang smiled. “Let me know if you find any good material in there,” she said with a wink.

“No promises. I can’t have you stealing all of my puns,” Taiyang said.

“You know, it’d be cool of neither of you came up with any puns for a while… you know… Maybe?” The silent stares Yang and her father gave Ruby in response to that suggestion caused her to uncomfortably clear her throat and change the subject. “So, uh, where’s Mercury? I haven’t seen him all morning.”

Yang frowned. “I’m not sure,” she said. “I was hoping he’d be eating or,” her eyes met her father’s, “outside doing more yard work.”

Taiyang shook his head. “Mercury has officially earned his guest status. No more chores are required in order for him to stay as far as I’m concerned.”

“I know you hate doing it, but why don’t you try calling him?” Ruby asked.

Yang nodded. “That’s not a bad idea.” She took one more gulp of orange juice and went upstairs to retrieve her scroll from her bedside table. She giggled when the silly picture of Mercury crossing his eyes and sticking his tongue out popped up as she called him. The sound of something vibrating startled her at first, but when she leaned down to investigate, she found Mercury’s scroll hiding underneath her pillow.

She ended the call on her scroll and picked up his, fiddling with the device until its home screen revealed the words WAIT FOR ME in big bold letters.

Yang gasped, nearly dropping Mercury’s scroll as she scrambled out of her room and down the stairs. She burst through the front door without any idea of where she was going. Her purposeful run gradually turned into an unsure walk as her eyes darted in all of the directions Mercury might’ve gone.

“What is it?” Ruby called from the front door. Yang must’ve made more noise than she realized when she dashed out of the house.

“Mercury…” Yang whispered. Her eyes glanced down to the abandoned scroll still clutched in her hand. “Where did you go?”

To be continued...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You did it! You officially finished my first ever fan fic! **high five**
> 
> I know I've mentioned her a lot, but I want to give yet another huge shout out to anawitch for coming up with such an awesome alternate universe and granting me permission to play with it :) This really has been fun, and I have such an intriguing plot planned out for Yang and Mercury! Be sure to keep an eye out for Boyfriend's sequel. Not sure when I'll post the first few chapters, but it won't be too long (b^_^)b

**Author's Note:**

> **IMPORTANT**
> 
> This is a continuation of the Gauntlets and Greaves series written by the lovely and talented anawitch! If you have not read her work, I suggest you do. I realize this is the end of my story, but that just means you have prequels to read!


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